


The Red Queen of Coruscant

by The_Unseen_MrStanton



Series: Star Wars: Supernatural Fantasies [4]
Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Noir, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Anal Sex, Attraction, BAMF Finn (Star Wars), Bisexual Poe Dameron, Blood Drinking, Blood and Violence, Character Turned Into Vampire, Courageous Jannah, Crime Fighting, Crimes & Criminals, Demisexual Rey (Star Wars), Don't ask me where this came from, Established Relationship, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, F/F, F/M, Falling In Love, Flirting, Forbidden Love, Gangs, Hedonism, Horror, Human Trafficking, I Don't Even Know, Illegal Activities, Interrogation, Kidnapping, Lapdance, Law Enforcement, Lost Love, Love Triangles, Loyal Rose Tico, M/M, Missing Persons, Non-Linear Narrative, Oral Sex, Organized Crime, Past Relationship(s), Porn with Feelings, Possessive Rey (Star Wars), Sex, Short Chapters, Smut, Strippers & Strip Clubs, True Love, Vigilantism, arms trafficking, it'll all make sense, sex with a vampire, shootout
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-26
Updated: 2020-01-29
Packaged: 2021-01-02 16:53:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 6
Words: 53,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21164966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Unseen_MrStanton/pseuds/The_Unseen_MrStanton
Summary: Coruscant is a techno metropolis of the modern world...At least, it is during the day. But, at night, everywhere there's a shadow, something unspeakable happens to the innocent civilians of this great city. It seems like everywhere the light doesn't touch, it's a dangerous area! Creeps are out all hours of the day. But, they're most active out at night.But, on these nights, the creeps aren't alone. Something's bumping in the dark along with them.





	1. On the Trail of Human Traffickers

**Author's Note:**

> Warning! Be advised!
> 
> Chapters will contain graphic violence, rape, explicit sex scenes (Duh!), human trafficking, and lots and lots and lots of blood! If none of that sits well with anyone, here's your stopping point!
> 
> If you're still reading this, then please enjoy... whatever this is.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Detectives of the Violent Crimes Unit take steps to infiltrate the First Order's human trafficking operations. Meanwhile, a young woman working as a stripper has two sets of eyes watching her every move.
> 
> (Re-edited)_(11/11/2019.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been watching way too much 'Chicago P.D.'! Because I woke up one morning and had this idea.

**(** **IN THE PRESENT DAY** **)**

_ OCTOBER 6, 2019_

Right at 8:42a.m., a call was made to Coruscant P.D. about a missing 8 year old girl, Bree Bainer. Seeing as how she was there early as usual, she would've been in before school care. Which means she could've been in the middle of eating her breakfast or was busy with one of the activities the sitters assigned for the kids to do. So, it wouldn't be anything to raise an alarm for.

Except for the fact that when her teacher went looking for her, he couldn't find her. As in she wasn't in the cafeteria or in one of the 3 pre-k classrooms. Something didn't sit well with any of the adults. Bree's may only be 8 years old. But, she's a smart girl. She wasn't the sort to just wandering off by herself or accompanied a stranger. She knew what the rules are. She knew not to trust anyone who was unfamiliar to her.

Regardless, now, 20 minutes later, she's still missing!

Police Officers arrived at the school about 5 minutes after they were called for the second time. When they couldn't find her in the immediate area, it was time to get the Coruscant's finest Detectives out here!

This was the kind of case that usually went to _'Kidnappings'_ or _'__Missing Persons' _. But, thanks to all of the civilians who have gone missing in the past 4 months, they have piles off cases of their own to go through. Even with the help of the FBI chipping in, there's just not enough ground to cover.

So, it was handed to Captain Jango Fett's _'Violent Crimes'_ Unit:

  * **CAP. Jango Fett**\- Captain of the Coruscant P.D. Violent Crimes Unit.
  * **DET. LT. Poe Dameron**\- Detective Lieutenant.
  * **DET. SGT. Temmin "Snap" Wexley**\- Detective Sergeant.
  * **DET. SGT. Vi Moradi**\- Detective Sergeant.
  * **DET. Jessika Pava**\- Junior Detective.
  * **DET. Finn Storm**\- Junior Detective.
  * **OFF. Ezra "Slip" Vale**\- Officer.
  * **OFF. Rose Tico**\- Officer.
  * **OFF. Kaydel "KO" Connix**\- Officer.
  * **ASA. Sol Rivas-** Assistant State's Attorney.
  * **FBI Agent Paige Tico**\- Criminal Profiler and forensic Psychologist.
  * **DR. Statura**\- Forensic Psychiatrist.
  * **M.E. Karé Kun**\- Medical Examiner.

As soon as Captain Fett got the call in his office, he called his Unit to meet him down at the crime scene.

Arriving on scene, Detectives started asking questions as to what happened 2 hours ago before school started.

Teachers from Soar High Academy saw her when she arrived on campus. She was with her mother, Cassia Bainer. She always got her daughter here 2 hours early before school everyday since she was working two jobs just to pay for her daughter's education. So, teacher knew to expect Bree and to keep her before it as time for homeroom.

However, when it was time for roll call, she was nowhere to be found. And seeing as how NO ONE saw her leave the campus, it was reasonable to assume that she was still on the premises.

Just then, one thing occurred to one of the Cafeteria Ladies. There was a man there. He wasn't a parent to any of the kids, at least as far as she knew. Although, it wasn't unheard for children whose parents were divorced, to make unexpected appearances. She saw him watching little Bree before she had to leave for homeroom. Cassia never mentioned Bree's father before. So, it was an ASSumption that he was here to maybe talk to her. Yet, he left shortly before she did.

Thinking back, she remembered seeing a vehicle she didn't recognized parked right in front of the cafeteria door. But, she couldn't remember the make or model.

Almost 2 hours later, there was nothing to go on: no vehicle, no license plate, no I.D. Just a physical description. She couldn't recall the vehicle he drove. Thankfully, she recalls what he looks like. And wouldn't you know it? The Physical description matches perfectly with a suspect who may (Or may not be) involved with the criminal Organization, _'First Order' _, who were believed to be behind a lot of these kidnapping/human trafficking cases. 

Small world, ain't it?

* * *

"The Suspect's name is Dopheld Mitaka." Says Captain Jango Fett, as he addresses the Officers of the Violent Crimes Unit. "He supposedly has connection, if not, a member of the group calling themselves 'The First Order'. Now, I realize that at first glance, he doesn't seem like much. But, don't let the babyface fool you. He's been looking to pursue his criminal career since the age of 15. Over the last 10 years, he's made quite a name for himself in the organized crime world. And his rap sheet runs the length of two football fields. Back when he was 15, he started off small: truancy, petty theft, shoplifting, vandalism, underage consumption of alcohol. And he soon graduated to aggravated assault, armed robbery, extortion, sexual sadism, and a long list of felony murders. With possibly several others. And now..."

"And now, it seems like he's moved up to kidnapping." Detective Lieutenant Dameron says.

"That's right." Captain Fett says, nodding his head.

"Honestly? I think he's regressing." Detective SGT Wexley says.

"How's that?" Detective Lt. Dameron asks.

"Well, I would think that kidnapping would've been something he would've done prior to now." Detective Wexley. "I mean, of course, if you've done something once, you're liable to do it again. But, this kinda snatch job is pretty sloppy. He's left a witness. Kinda a step down from his usual M.O., if you ask me."

"Looks to me like he's shown interest going the distance." Officer Tico says. "First, he starts off slow... petty theft and vandalism. And now, he's known by the police as a sexual sadist with a violent temper and a taste for armed robbery. So, maybe this is the next step up from his usual M.O. Only, like all of his first attempts, it's a shitty one."

"Ahh... maybe." Detective Wexley shrugs.

"But, kidnapping children?" Officer 'Slip' questions. "Why? This doesn't add up. Why downgrade from hardened killer to child snatcher? There's gotta be something we're missing!" 

"You're trying to apply reason to someone who kills for the thrill of it, Slip." Detective Storm mentions. "He's got no conscience or common sense. There's no rhyme or reason for anything this nutball does. He seems to just _do things_."

"But, don't you think that's a little... I don't know... specific?" 'Slip' asks. "I mean, why this girl? Why would he just take that one little girl? If you were gonna take children, why not snatch a bunch of 'em?"

"He probably didn't have a lot of time." Officer Tico says. "He knew he was being watched by people and just made off with the first kid he could get alone with."

"Sounds to me like Dopheld there is dead set on impressing his F.O. buddies." Detective Pava says. "As if all these other offenses don't mean a whole lot. We're pretty convinced that the 'First Order' is involved in human trafficking. So, if he wants a seat at the big boys' table, that means breaking into the Human trafficking game. But, like before, starting off easy with a quick 'snatch-and-run' trial."

Detective Moradi then leans forward in her chair, frowning at something her captain just said. "Sir? Excuse me. Not to go too far off topic here. But, 'Possibly several murders'?" She asks.

"We have no concrete evidence that we can tie to Mitaka to the unsolved ones." Captain Fett says. "Of course, he's taken a chance on taking out a few of his random targets, but failed. And some people on that unsolved murders list were indeed criminals from one degree or another. But, seeing as how Mitaka has had past dealings with those victims, alive or dead, we haven't overruled the possibility. We just can't prove it." He explains. "Why?"

Detective Moradi shifts uneasily in her chair. "I've just suddenly realized that this little asshole seems to have no trouble moving up the psychopathic ladder with little concern for the people he hurts and the families that suffer. I'm wondering if this is about trying something new."

"Uhh... what does that mean, Vi?" Officer Tico asks.

"What I mean is everything this punk has done has been gradual." Vi says. "First, he's missing school. Then, he's going after people with bricks, knives, and guns. Eventually, he gets up there with brutal murder. First one was just sloppy. Hesitant marks with no idea of how to kill someone the right way. But, now? Not only has he gotten much better at it, he seems to enjoy the fact that he can make people suffer first before he kills them."

"Oh, I don't like where this is going." Detective 'Snap' says with a troubled expression.

"Needless to say, killing an adult in cold blood is terrible enough. For most regular, clear thinking people, the act of carrying it out is extremely difficult. But, to someone who didn't have a conscience, it's become as natural to them as breathing." Vi says. "He's already done the hard part. So..."

"Don't say it." Pava says. "Please don't say it!"

"So, you think this has nothing to do at all with him trying to get in with the First Order?" Officer 'Slip' asks. "But, rather, he's just doing it for his own fucked-up pleasure?"

"Well..." Vi says. "...Yeah. Basically."

"So, with the clock's running on us finding this girl alive and we're already 4 hours behind, that'll leave him plenty of enough time to do whatever he gonna do." Dameron comments.**** <strike></strike>

The others in the unit all have looks of horror, fear, shock, terror, and heartbreak.

"4 hours?" Officer Connix asks. "What... what are our chances of finding her alive? Assuming we find her at all?"

"A lot worst if we just sit here." Detective Storm says. 

"Hey!" Rose shouts. "She's worried about the poor girl. And, right now, we have no leads to go after. So, why don't you just take it down a notch?"

"Yeah." Slip says. "Take it easy, brother."

"What I mean is we need to be proactive." Finn says. "I realize she's worried. We're all worried! But, instead of letting fear and anger build up, how about we use them and get to work?"

"Okay." Detective Pava says with a sigh. She shrugs. "How do we do that? All of his disposal sites have been exposed! Where do we go from here?"

"Well, first of all... we know, at least, that Mitaka has been associated with the First Order's top guy, Armitage Hux, right?" Finn asks, getting everyone's attention. "Which means he won't do anything to jeopardize either the organization itself or his chances of giving into that organization. And with all of his disposal sites exposed, as Jess said before, as with any and every hole he's hid in before... That means he's looking to find sanctuary for him as well as hiding place for Bree Bainer. Without drawing anymore attention to himself."

"Right." Jess says. "He knows we have eyes on him. And with so with all of his places burnt, he'll be desperate to find a safe place just to think. He won't have time to carry out whatever he's had planned for the little girl. Especially, if it gets out that we're looking for him and Bree."

"'Desperate' is right." Finn comments. "He'll be eager to hide, but not to run. He's not looking to leave town just yet." 

"And how do you know that, Finn?" Rose asks.

"He's gotten too comfortable with the idea that while cops can catch him, they can't hold him." Finn states. "The First Order's attorneys just do too good a damn job of keeping him out of jail. So, he won't be running. He'll just be hanging his hat at the moment."

"If I'm reading you right, Finn, You sound like you have something in mind there." Poe says.

"I do." Finn says. "But, it's gonna involve one of his old running partner from 2 years ago. One of his 'victims' that got away."

"Who?" Temmin asks.

"DJ." Finn says.

"DJ?" Vi asks, incredibly. "You don't mean that spine-less, self-serving limp dick?!"

"That's the one I mean." Finn confirms.

"Isn't he already serving 20-to-life for illegal gun running?" Rose asks. 

"Yes, he is." Finn says. "With no chance of parole. So..."

"So?!" Rose asks, taken aback. "So, how is taking him out of Sarlacc prison and back on the street gonna help us in any way?!" She asks, with aggression present in her voice. **** <strike></strike>

"It's gonna end with him getting gutted by the batshit crazy psycho with the babyface." Kaydel says. "Meanwhile, Bree Bainer would still be missing."

"And, of course, lest we forget, Mitaka already knows that DJ is locked up." Vi says. "If word got back to him that the 20-to-lifer was out and about, he's bound to wonder what's up. If DJ contacts him, he'll think it's a trap, then we'll have a no-show on our hands. And, as Kaydel said before, Bree would still be missing!"

"Of course he'll think it's a trap." Finn says. "That's what makes it perfect."

Jango, Poe, and Vi all turn to look at Finn, curious at to where he's going with this.

"You..." Rose scoffs. "You know Mitaka's gonna suspect a trap and you think it's a good idea to go forward with this?"

"Finn, y'know I love ya, brother..." Slip says. But, sometimes, man... you can really..."

"Alright! SHUT UP!" Jango shouts. "Since you all sound so displeased by this plan, which you haven't even heard yet, by all means..." He gestures giving them the floor to speak. "...If any of you have any better ideas, let's hear it."

The room then goes silent. No one says anything, all the while, looking around at everyone else, waiting to see who speaks up. No one does.

"What a letdown." Captain Fett says dryly. "Now, then... Finn, I'm curious. What exactly did you have in mind for Mr. 'Don't Join'. Why would Mitaka knowing he was being set up a good thing?"

"Well..." Finn sits up in his chair at his desk. "It's no secret to anyone DJ's been known to either break his way out of jail or buy his way out. Either way, having him on the street would mean that DJ was going back into business. And with some of the things he's seen and knows about certain key members of the First Order, taking him out would be a juicy opportunity. As stated before, Mitaka's been known to have a few blunders on his kill list. At least, early in his 'cold killer' days. If he, at any time, made an attempt on DJ's life and fucked up, he'll be looking to finish what he started. But, before we set DJ back out the world, we need to ensure that they'll be aware of each other's... situation, for lack of a better word. Mitaka is in hiding and DJ's made a deal with Police for a shorter sentence. Maybe he'd even get parole at some point. Now, if we can get DJ set up with a wire, get him into connect with Mitaka somehow, we can kill two birds with one stone. Or maybe three... many more."**** <strike></strike>

"You're not actually talking about using someone as bait, are you?" Vi asks.

"It'll be just the thing we need to draw him out." Finn says.

"As big as an asshole as DJ is, I'm not interested in dangling anyone's life on a string. Lowlife or otherwise." Vi says. "And what if DJ dies on our watch? What, then? Would you be able to live with that? And while we're having it out right now, what makes you think that Mitaka would risk his own freedom just to off DJ?"

"Because, it'll be his step closer to joining the First Order." Finn says.

"Huh?" Vi asks, her jaw hanging low in a state of bafflement.

"It's an important thing to correct if he wants to get next to Hux." Slip says.

Poe frowns, clearly confused, before shutting his eyes and shaking his head. "How's that? You wanna try that again, Slip?" He asks.

"Hey!" Finn says. "Listen. You guys all know that my sister and I were apart of the First Order way back when. And along with Slip, here. And, one of the first things they teach you is that you always make up for whatever mistakes you made. For Slip, it was to be a better soldier. To stop being so reliant on others. For Jannah? Well, she was perfect. She just needed to remember who the enemy was. And me, it was being 'soft'. I had everything I needed to be the perfect F.O. soldier myself... except the mindset on being a cold-blooded killer. Taking out a failed mark like 'DJ' would be a huge deal for Mitaka. Not to mention, a witness to some of the F.O.'s dealings. It's a chance he can't pass up. Not even at the cost of his freedom or even his life."

Everyone takes a moment to let all of that marinate. 

"Y'know, as crazy as all of that sounds, it actually does make a lot of sense." Temmin says.

"Yeah." Poe agrees. "Aside from loyalty and rule following, there's nothing that the F.O. values more than someone putting their all into accomplishing... whatever they view as a 'goal'. Getting word to Mitaka might be just the thing we need to get little B.B. back."

"And really, the best part is, we don't even really need a confession." Vi says. "We just need to know the location of Bree Bainer. Applying a little pressure should be enough to get his tongue nice and loose. But... Oh! That would mean him making and taking deals."

"Well, as a last resort, we can always just offer him over to the 'Order'." Captain Fett says. "Make them think he had secrets about them worth killing him over."

"We could even plant something on Mitaka and threaten to expose him to the F.O." Slip says, getting the others to give him the death stare. Not because of what he said. But, because he said it out loud. "Only if he wants to play 'hard ass', of course."

"Yep. And we can even use Mitaka as a means to flip high-ranking members in the F.O." Jessika says.

"Hate to say it." Rose says. "But, Finn's right. Catching Mitaka would just open the door to a plethora of many potential takedowns."

"Is it doable?" Captain Fett asks.

"Picking the right location is just the start." Poe says. "Containing it and forming a perimeter? Possible. Blockades? Depending on where we set up. Getting Officers to dress in plain clothes and keeping the streets clear of civilians..." Poe thinks on it some more. "...Yeah. It's definitively doable. It's all doable."

"Alright. Well, get that started. And while you, Wexley, and Moradi are all on that, I'll see about getting our bait on the hook." Captain Fett says. "Getting him loaned out for about 12 hours shouldn't be too difficult. Storm, Pava, Vale, and Connix? I want you all on the beat, taking to your C.I.s. see if we can't get ears out on the street. Just because we're setting up a meet doesn't mean we can't be proactive. Plus, I still wanna run the human trafficking angle. So, Tico, give your sister a call. Have her get together with Statura. Hopefully, they'll go over strategies on how to deal with DJ and Mitaka, once we have him in custody." He starts to walk over to his office before stopping again and addressing his unit. "Listen. I know I don't have to tell any of you here this. But, we've only got a small window to operate in and it's closing, quick. So, let's not waste another second. Let's get to work now." Fett then heads into his office.

"Yessir!"/"Yes, Sir!'/"On it."/"Sure thing."/"You got it."/"You got it, boss!"/"We're on it!"/"We've got you!" Slip, Finn, Rose, Poe, Vi, Temmin, Jessika, and Kaydel all say in unison.

As Poe, Vi, and Temmin head out to set things up, Finn, Rose, Slip, and Jessika all start making phone calls. 

Their civilian administrative aide, Zay Versio, comes over, placing papers on Temmin's desk as well as Vi's. She then goes over to Poe and hands him a binder.

"Thanks." Poe says before he raises his receiver up to his ear.

"Hey." Zay says, leaning in close to Poe before looking around. "So, from the look on your face, you didn't get much sleep last night."

"No, Zay." Poe says. "I did not. Are you just asking because you're concerned or were you asking to be asking?"

"Neither." Zay asks. "I'm asking because I wanna know which one were you with all night."

"This is really the best time to talk about this?" Poe asks, looking at her with a dumbfounded expression on his face.

"Just consider this a quick name drop so we can get to work." Zay says. "So, who was it? The Counselor or the wife?"

"I'm not doing this with you." Poe says.

"Poe, come on! Your love-life is a wonder to behold." Zay says. "You really can't write this kinda thing. In fact, It's a wonder Sol, Amilyn, or Orson haven't found out about each other."

"HEY!" Vi shouts. "Will you leave him be?! We've all got work to do here!"

"Sorry, detective!" Zay says with her hands up, trying to look as innocent as she can. She then looks back down at Poe with a smirk.

Poe then sighs. "You're just gonna keep bringing this up until I say something, aren't you?" He asks after realizing his situation.

Zay smirks while shrugging her shoulder.

"It was Sol, okay? Can we get to work now, please?" Poe asks, though it wasn't really a question.

"Let's get to it." Zay says with a grin before she walks away.

Poe shakes his head after he's finished dialing a number. "Jesus..." He mutters to himself. "...Yes, this is Detective Dameron."

* * *

**LATER ON THAT NIGHT...**

In the Upper North side of town, a young Caucasian woman wakes up alone in the dark. The clock sitting on her nightstand was ringing loudly and a sliver of blue light from a nearby lava lamp illuminated her face. She sits up in bed, groaning out loud as she stretches. Her skin was pale like snow and her eyes were hazel.

Her duvet was dark red and her sheets were of a lighter shade. There were no windows in her room.

She gets up out of her bed, looking around like she was troubled by something. She grabbed a nearby robe and her phone before she leaves her room, which was actually in the basement of her house. She reaches the top of the stairs and frowns as if something wasn't right.

She reaches over for her phone and notices that someone named 'Cassie' has left her a text message from earlier that morning.

_[Text from: Cassie 7:53a.m.] Hey, Rey. Headin' out to take Bree to school. I'll be sure to have some dinner out for you tonight before we go to bed. See you when we see you!_

'Rey' then looks up and her eyes shoot over to the dark hallway outside of her room. "Cassia?" She calls out with a british accent. "Cassie?" She then goes over to the stairwell, going up to the first bedroom near the top step. "Cassie, are you here?" She looks inside to find that the bed wasn't made up and no indication that her 'roommate' had been there all day.

'Rey' then takes her phone out of her robe's pocket and calls Cassie. It goes straight to voice mail. She tries again... same result. She then shoots her a text message, asking her to let her know if everything's alright. And if it wasn't... if there was something... anything that bothered her, she needs to get back to 'Rey' immediately. She hits 'Send' and lowers her phone, she studies the room, not seeing anything out of place. Nothing was ransacked or knocked over. 'Rey' wonders where her friend might be, but figures since she's going out anyway, she'll, at least, be in the streets ready to do whatever she needed to do.

Her frown only deepens before she departs from her room and goes over to another room. Turning on the light and closing the door behind her.

* * *

After washing up, Rey does her hair and brushes her teeth. She then dresses up in a brown tank top and cut off jeans. She slips on a pair of brown sandals before she leaves the room and heads back downstairs.

Leaving and locking up her house...

...

(Clears throats) Beg pardon...

Her mansion, she pulls out a set of car keys and hopes into her Silver 2019 Nissan Altima. She then pulls out of her driveway, tires screeching as she heads into the city. As she cruises around the night streets, she finds herself in the middle of Coruscant's nightlife.

* * *

Pulling up to an establishment called the 'Heaven's Darlings' strip club, Rey parks her car, turning it off and steps out. As she's approaching the side door, she's completely unaware of a man with graying hair was watching her.

Seeing Rey getting out of her car, her observer gets out of his. "Rey! Hey! It's so good to see you tonight!"

Rey blinks before she gives the man a smile. "Hello, Orson. How are you tonight?"

"Doing much better." Orson says. "I just left the office. Darling, how can you dress like that? It's 30 degrees out here."

"Oh, is it?" Rey asks. "Honestly, I can't even feel it."

Orson looks at her baffled. "You really are something else." He comments. "So, are we in for a great show tonight?" Orson asks.

"Of course!" Rey says. "Every night I dance is a great night. You should know this. You've been coming to every one of my sets for the last 3 years." 

"Yes, that's true." Orson says. "I'm just really wondering about something."

Rey tilts her head up as a gesture for him to go on.

"Well, I was wondering if I can persuade you into giving me a private dance tonight." Orson says.

"Well, that's up to my boss." Rey says.

"Actually, I wanted to take it up with you first." Orson says. "You know I'll make it worth your while."

"Well, in that case, it all depends on how much you have on you now." Rey states.

Orson reaches into his pocket and pulls out a large stack of 100 dollar bills. "I've got $900 right here."

Rey studies the wad of cash in his left hand before her eyes drift up to meet his again.

Orson looks at her anxiously, hoping that she'll agree to it.

Rey presses her lips together. "Well..." She looks over at the line leading into the club and sees it growing by the second. She also catches a glimpse of a man shouting at a young woman, waving his arms about like he was threatening to hit her. Rey then turns to look back at Orson before she smiles. "I guess we'll get to have another night to ourselves again, my love."

Orson beams at her words. "Great!" He almost shouts. "I'll see you up on stage."

"Yes. Yes, you will." Rey smiles at him before turning her attention back to the arguing duo. She heads over to confront the guy. But, before she can, she sees him getting into his truck and driving off, leaving the woman to retreat inside through the side door. She watches as the man leaves the parking lot like a man on the run and she cuts her eyes at his rapidly retreating tail lights. Rey then turns her attention back to the side door and goes to head inside herself.

And while she leaves, she fails once more to notice that a man wearing glasses, sitting behind the wheel of his car, is also watching her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment and share your thoughts!


	2. Concerned about a Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey is worried when a friend of hers goes missing. But, upon learning that her friend's daughter was also missing, Rey fears the worst.
> 
> Meanwhile, the Coruscant P.D. Violent Crimes Unit work on flipping D.J. and getting him to help setup Mitaka and the First Order to help those who've been enslaved.
> 
> (Re-edited.)_(11/11/2019.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mentions of nudity.
> 
> Please enjoy!

As Rey approached the door, she stops. Still thinking about her friend, Cassie, she decides to try and call her again. Back at her mansion, Rey called Cassie twice between locking herself in the upstairs bedroom and taking a shower. 

She turns around and leans up against the wall as she fished around for her phone in her purse. Pulling it out, she goes into her contacts and hits the 'call' button.

Placing the phone to her right ear, she hears the line ringing as she waits to hear her friend's voice. Her ACTUAL voice, the one she hears whenever they talk about things. And not the one asking the caller to leave a message.

But, to her dismay, all she hears is Cassie's voice, asking the caller to leave a message.

"Cass..." Rey says. "...This is the third voicemail I've left tonight. I'm beyond worried about you and Bree. If there's something wrong, you need to call me. When I moved the two of you into my house, it wasn't on a whim. I think of the two of you as my family. I've said this a million times. And I've been there for you both just as many times. And I'll be there again. So, just... please. Please, give me a call back. Okay? Bye." Rey lowers the phone and looks at the screen like it was gonna somehow reveal her friend's location.

With a sigh, Rey ends the call before she puts the phone back into her purse.

**<BOOM!>**

The loud sound of the old, squeaky, side door opening causes Rey to jump. She looks over her right shoulder to see two women leaving out, chatting and laughing about something.

Quickly regaining her composure, Rey turns on her heels and heads inside.

* * *

Rey walks into a dressing room where half naked women were putting on makeup, wearing skimpy outfits, running their mouths, or just walking around. She walks a very narrow walkway, narrowly avoiding other girls who were going about their night. She continues on towards her locker when she sees the young woman from outside. 

The young woman who was just arguing with the guy outside sits in her chair, crying. She's comforted by a couple of friends, who whisper to her that she'll be okay and she was welcomed to stay with either of them for tonight. She quietly thanks them both before declining, staying that she's already got somewhere to stay for tonight after work.

The other women give sad expressions. But, nod in acknowledgement before they return to their own 'stations' in the dressing room to get 'spruced up' for tonight.

As all the other women in the room get ready, the young blonde notices that her makeup was ruined thanks to her tears and the tissues. She finishes wiping away the last of her tears before she goes to reapply it again.

Just then, Rey walks in, noticing her sitting alone. She walks up behind her, resting her hands on her chair. "Lydia?" She calls out. "Lydia, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I..." Lydia's voice breaks so she clears her throat before speaking again. "...I'm fine."

"I saw what happened outside." Rey comments. "Jessup isn't still giving you grief about the breakup, is he?"

Lydia's eyes widen briefly. She reacts faster than she can stop herself. "No, no. Nothing like that. We just... needed to re-establish a few things."

Rey frowns at that, but says nothing as she waits for more detail. When she doesn't get them, she asks, "Like what? What is left for the two of you to re-establish?"

"Like..." Lydia takes a moment to think of something, but all she can say is. "...Knowing that we're not as close as we once were and that Jessup needs to respect... certain... boundaries." She nods her head like she's told some great truth. But, in reality, was relieved that she didn't stumble over her words too much. 

"Why is that even a thing for the two of you to talk about?" Rey asks. "He's a hateful bastard with a nasty habit of throwing punches at people. You, especially. The only thing I can see you two even talking about is how the next time he shows up, you'll have the police waiting for _him_ . Why are you _even_ entertaining his bullshit anymore?" **** <strike></strike>

"Oh..." Lydia says, running out of lies to say. "...Well, he's got somethings going on and he wanted to know if I was willing to talk to him."

"Things." Rey's eyebrow arch and her eyelids close in around her irises, causing Rey to cut her eyes at Lydia. "Such as?"

Lydia says nothing. Just keeps on reapplying her make-up.

Rey's eyes than lower to a scowl. She can tell from her shifted position that she's got something in her head that she doesn't want Rey to know about. But, Rey wouldn't let this go... not without at least some sort of explanation. "Lydia..." She says in a kind of warning tone. 

Again, Lydia says nothing.

Rey then softens up immediately, exhaling loudly like she was either frustrated and/or didn't want to appear too aggressive. Lydia's her friend. She just wants to know what's going on. "Lydia... Look, I'm sorry. I don't mean to be pushy. Just... come on. Talk to me. Please? I'm your friend. You know I'm on your side. And I'm only interested in making sure you're alright. I wouldn't be so in your business if I didn't care about you."

"We uh..." Lydia starts. "...We... We're talking again, Rey."

Rey looks down on her with a mixture of shock and disappointment. "You're talking again?! Don't tell me you two are back together again?!"

This catches the attention of some of the other women around them.

"Well, only..." Lydia says, tilting her head from side to side. "...kinda. But, not really." She looks around and notices that they were drawing eyes to them.

"'Only kinda'...?!" Rey whispers harshly. "...'But, not really'? What does that mean?" 

"It means..." Lydia whispers lowly, not wanting the other girls to hear them. "...that he's going through a rough patch and he needed someone to talk to." Lydia answers honestly for the first time tonight.

"Lydia, you've gotta stop this back-and-forth with him!" Rey says. "You can't reason with a fool like that. And you're not helping your situation in the slightest. You're mad at him one second and you go running to check on him the next. That might be the reason he's so damn crazy! He thinks you can't live without him."

Lydia shushes Rey. "Would you please relax?" Lydia says, trying to sound cheerful, but sadness is present in her voice. "I can keep him calm. I know he doesn't mean to do what he does. He's just... he's going through a lot right now."

"And you think it's your business to try and make him feel better?" Rey asks, sounding really incredibly right now. "When are you gonna learn who it is you're dealing with?!"

"Normally, I'd be more cautious around him and avoid him at all times. Except, he didn't hit me at all in the past 4 days or at all tonight." Lydia argues. "Don't you see? He doesn't have anyone else. He knows I'm not out to do him harm. And I can help him. I'm not planning on moving in with him. Hell, I don't even plan on sticking around him forever. Just long enough to get him to simmer down. That's all."

"Are you hearing yourself right now?!" Rey asks. "He's not looking for help! Men like him don't wanna be helped. They just do whatever the hell they feel like. There's no such thing as trying to help a fool. He's trying to lure you again. And, knowing you, you're bound to give in! You can't keep doing this with Jessup! He's bound to be the death of you!"

Lydia then raises out of her chair and faces Rey. "Then, what do you suggest I do about it?!" She asks. "Huh?! Jessup's a cop! No matter what, it'll be My word against his!" 

Just then, their boss comes into the dressing room, ready to get tonight started. But, once he sees that every eye is on the two arguing women, he goes to shut shit down! "Hey! Knock that shit off!"

Rey and Lydia ignore him initially. They were still in the middle of their argument. Lydia had just asked Rey about a way out of her situation and Rey was explaining that she knew a Detective in the Violent Crimes Unit who would go looking into things for her when their boss's shouting soon drowned them out.

"Yo Excuse you!" Their boss shouted. "Girls! WHOA, WHOA! HEY!!"

Lydia and Rey finally turned to face him.

"WHATEVER THE FUCK IS GOING ON, SAVE IT FOR WHEN YOU'RE NOT CAUSING ME TO LOSE MONEY!" The Boss demanded. "NOW, SHUT THE FUCK UP AND LISTEN TO ME!"

All of the women in the dressing room gave Dryden Vos their undivided attention.

Dryden Vos then took a quick breath before he spoke again. "We've got a larger-than-usual crowd out there. Plenty of men and women who've all had a rough day at work and who want to see you all giving them nothing but the best tonight to help them to relax. At least, long enough before they have to go home to the Misters and Mistresses. So, Joy? You're shaking the yeeks for Hightown Uni frat boys. Pepper? You and Star are doing a double dance for a party of four lonely husbands. And Lydia? You've got a lap dance for an Indle Käufer. He's paying top dollar for you. So, go ahead and get ready. Do NOT keep him waiting."

"Okay." Lydia says, sitting back down to put the finishing touches on her face.

"As for the rest of you, you all know you'll be on the floor, serving drinks and making people feel more comfortable." Dryden says. "So, don't be shy. Let your titties flop and keep your ass cheeks wiggling. You know the folks out there love it when you wiggle. Lushes, you know I mean you."

'Lushes' hums triumphantly/tauntingly, sticking out her tongue at the other girls before she walks off.

"Okay!" Dryden says, clapping his hands loudly once. "Finish putting on whatever still needs to be put on ladies. The show's about to begin in minutes."

All of the girls then go back to work.

Rey leans in closely to Lydia, reminding her to get in touch with the Detectives in the Violent Crimes Unit. She knows someone in that Unit who'll be willing to help her out.

Lydia redundantly nods her head so subtlety, it's easy to miss it.

Rey nods back and heads over to her station to finally get dressed.

"Hey." Dryden says, stopping Rey in her tracks. "I don't know what all of that was when I came in. But, one thing I need you to know is the only shouting that I allow in my place of business is the paying customers. Don't you ever make a habit of bringing down the energy in the room. The other girls need it if their gonna get paid this week, you understand?"

Rey presses her lips tonight and nods. "Yeah. Yeah, I understand."

"Listen, Rey." Dryden says, grabbing her arm tightly. But, not quite tightly enough for it to hurt. And she doesn't miss the sight of this man's hand on her bicep. She looks down at it before she looks back up at him. "One thing that I admire about you is you've got a lot of heart. Whatever people might be going through, you seem to make it a point to step in and try to help. Being a saint is good and all. It makes other folks feel better to know that you care. But, you've gotta remember something. You can't save the whole world. Sometimes, you just need to stay focused on yourself. Like, you're an amazing dancer and a damn good earner. Easily, one of my best. NO. My very best. You've made me a ton of cash as well as keep the boys out there _very_ happy."

Rey then gently snatches her arm out of his grip.

"You've got a good think going." Dryden says, then sliding his arm around Rey's shoulders. "...And I'd hate to see you having to lose your job over some other girl's silly shit that you weren't gonna fix anyway. So, just remember. While I appreciate what you try and do for people, you can't just go raising your voice and upsetting your co-workers. It'll ruin the flow of order around her. And not to mention it'll ruin your chances of getting to keep working if you disturb the folks out there. So, do us both a favor and keep... whatever it is out of my house? Please? I'm not saying you shouldn't be the darling angel you are. Just don't let it fuck things up for you. You follow me?"

"Oh, yeah." Rey nods with a mock understanding expression. "I hear what you're saying, Mr. Vos. I'll take things up with people before work or after it."

"Good. Glad we understand each other." Dryden says, nodding and walking away. "Because, if it happens again... I don't give a damn how much money you bring in a week. You're outta here." He then starts walking away.****<strike></strike>

Rey scoffs. "Like I need this job." She mutters under her breath.

"Oh! By the way, your not-so-secret admirer, Krennic, asked if you could dance for him tonight."**** <strike></strike>

Rey raises an eyebrow. "He have anything special in mind?"

Dryden smiles. "The lovely shepherd girl. You're staff will be brought out in the private room we're setting up for Krennic."

"I'll take good care of him once I've finished my gig." Rey promises.

"Good." Dryden says. "You do that. You go on in about an hour. And for God's sake, Rey! You've gotta stay out of freezing temperatures. Your skin's as cold as ice!"

Rey scoffs before her eyebrows shoot up in an 'whatever' expression before she takes a seat. Since she had an hour to get ready to go on, she decided to text Cassia again. She whips out her phone and types out:

_ [Text to: Cassie 8:05p.m.] Hey, Cass. This is my 4th text to you tonight. If you have your phone, I really need you to get in touch with me ASAP. I'm scared that something may have happened to you or Bree and you just don't want to say so. So, please! Please, Cassie! Get back to me! I'm worrying myself crazy over here! _

She hits 'send'.

As Joy passes by her chair, Rey jumps to her feet to stop her before she heads out.

"Hey." Rey says, running up to her. "Joy! Joy!"

Joy turns around, looking at Rey like she was disturbing her. "Hey." She says with a deadpan tone.

Rey then rubs the back of her neck with her left hand in an anxious sort of way. "Hey." She says back. "Listen, uh... Have you-... have you seen or heard from Cassia at all lately? I haven't heard from her all day today."

"Knowing her, she's probably out searching." Joy says with an emotionless tone.

Rey's right brow arches. "Searching? Searching for what?"

Joy's expression then shift into a much more surprised one. "Haven't you heard?" She asks.

Rey frowns at that. "Heard what?"

"Little Bree was abducted from school this morning." Joy comments.

Rey's eyes immediately shot up. "What?!"

"Yeah, it was... roughly an hour after Cassie usually drops her off." Joy says. "Or so the police say. Police Chief swears that 'Missing Persons' is 'all over it'. But, they lyin'! There are too many people around here who are going missing! Nobody's gonna devote any time or effort into looking for an 8 year whore's daughter! Assholes make me sick!

A thousand thoughts ran through Rey's mind. But, only one keeps making the loop back to the forefront of her thoughts. "Did you see her at all yesterday? I haven't seen her since last night myself."

"Yeah." Joy says. "We met up at the _Kayson café _for a late lunch. It was just before I came in for work." 

"Did she seem at all..." Rey starts to say. "...did she seem kinda off to you? Like something was bothering her?"

Joy takes a moment to think on that. "Uh... You know what? She did. She was acting weird the entire time we were talking. It didn't really occur to me until just now. When we grabbed lunch, she did seem kinda distant. Like her mind was many miles away." Joy then gets a thought. "You don't think she had something to do with Bree getting kidnapped, do you?"

"What?!" Rey exclaims lowly. "No! That's ridiculous!" Rey then thinks back to when she was talking to Cassia. "But, she may have been aware that something bad was gonna happen. I don't know where her head was. But, if she had any interacts with the wrong crowd, her daughter getting kidnapped might've been the end result."

"Oh, my God!" Joy says. "What?! What's-... what's going on?"

"I don't know." Rey says. "I don't wanna think like this. But, maybe someone was trying to get something from her or trying to force her into doing something. And when she refused or couldn't deliver, they may have taken Bree to teach her a lesson. She wouldn't risk her daughter's safety for anything." Rey then gets a horrible idea. "I've suddenly thought of a really terrible idea."

"What?" Joy asks.

"If Cassie saw this coming, she may have gone out to look for more illegal means for protection or as a means of getting her back." Rey says. "In other words, she might've pissed off the wrong people if she threatened to go to the local gangs around Solitary Square for some help. I heard from a friend of mine who lives near there that if you owe something to some very bad people, going to some of the gangs is worse than going to the police. Worse yet, Kanjiklub runs that entire side of town. Kanjiklub is known to find people who don't wanna be found... for a price. So, if Cassie threatened to go to them..." 

"Then... She could provoke whoever-the-fuck is messing with her and a whole firefight could break out with little Bree caught right in the middle." Joy finishes.

Rey then nods in agreement. She was thinking the same thing. "Yeah. Yeah, I was thinking just that."

Joy then looks over at some of the male customers outside before she turns her attention back to Rey. She then leans closely to Rey. "You don't think her old boyfriend found her again, do you? Y'know? Bree's father?"

Rey was about to say something back. Only she stops before she does, letting her lower jaw hang in thought. "Ooh. I hope not. That's the last thing she needs right now."

"I know." Joy says in a kinda gasp while barely above a whisper.

"_JOY!!_" Shouted Dryden from where he was in the club.

Joy scoffs at her name being called like that before she addresses Rey again briefly. "I gotta go. Boss man's calling. But, if you haven't heard from her or she isn't at your place when you go home, please let me know. I don't wanna think of Unkar Plutt on the lookout for his former girls."

"I don't either." Rey nods. "But, if I don't see her, I'll give you a call."

"Okay, please do." Joy says, gently grabbing Rey's waist in an affectionate manner. "Thanks." She then heads into the club, walking in (Strutting in...) like a model. 

Rey then goes back over to her station to get undressed... so she could get 'dressed'. 

* * *

**HOURS EARLIER THAT DAY...**

Not too long after Capt. Fett gave them all orders, the Officers of the Violent Crimes Unit went to work, setting up a meeting between Dopheld Mitaka and D.J.

  * Picking the corner of 9th and Abrams, Detectives **Dameron**, **Wexley**, & **Moradi** had officers canvas the area, making sure the streets could be contained by the police perimeter and was defendable just in case they get an unexpected surprise from friends of either Mitaka or D.J. or, hell, both of them. While the 3 detectives themselves were selecting officers to patrol inside their perimeter discreetly while in plain clothes.
  * Over with Detectives **Pava** and **Storm**, along with Officers **Connix**, **Vale**, and **Tico** were talking to their C.I.s (Confidential Informants), asking if there's both any other news about folks going missing. And having them do some snooping with the incentive of making certain legal matters go away (And a little cash out of 'good faith'.)
  * Capt. **Fett** went over to Sarlacc Prison along with ASA **Rivas**, and FBI Profiler **Tico**, to have a 'conversation' with D.J. Explaining their situation and circumstances to Warden Ackbar should have been a simple enough task. Just going over how this little setup would not only save the life of a child. But, other innocent civilians as well (Not to mention the level of police presence they were putting together to make sure that things would run smoothly...) should've been enough to get Ackbar's approval. One would understand skepticism, but DAMN! Ackbar let it be known that he was not gonna be held responsible just for letting Coruscant P.D. have their way only to fuck everything up. It took some convincing from FBI Profiler Paige Tico to get him calm enough to listen and she explained that D.J. would be closely monitored by Members of the VCU so closely, it would as if they were standing right next to him. Along with her personal assurance that he, the Warden, would not be charged with anything that might go wrong. But would, in fact, receive praises for having a very important role to play in stopping the First Order's human trafficking ring. This seems to get Ackbar quiet long enough to think about it. And finally, he gave them his permission. Seems not taking any fault of this whole thing's fucked, but taking credit for being trusting enough to add Coruscant P.D. and the FBI in bringing down the F.O. sat just fine with him. So, with a nod and a wave of his hand, the operation was a go. Now, Tico and Rivas just needed to talk with D.J.
  * Patrolman Braddock, Howser, Wedjet, & Kisdale were just four of the assigned officers to mind the perimeter. And they were asked to change into their plain clothes and do some casual walkarounds. Just keep an eye out for any potential holes that any armed assholes might find or already know about.

Everything was all set for the takedown later this afternoon. They just needed to try and convince D.J. to risk his life in exchange for a little girl's. This oughta be the easy part.

(Sidenote: Sarcasm!)

* * *

D.J. sits in an interrogation room somewhere on the second floor in Sarlacc prison. Dressed in his prison fatigues, he rests his elbows on the table as he digs out the dirt from under his fingernails as he awaited whoever had called him in from his 'lavish surroundings' of a prison. The sound of a buzzer draws his attention to the door in front of him and he drops his arms, sitting up straight.

The door opens and ASA Rivas and Agent Tico stroll in and sits at the table, across from D.J., who suddenly seems so bored and uninterested, all of a sudden. 

"D.J." Agent Tico says before she places out his arrest sheet and slides it up to him. "Short for 'Don't Join', is that correct?" She asks. "It's not very imaginative." 

D.J.'s eyes drift down to the sheet in front of him.

"We do know your real name, however." ASA Rivas says. "Dario Jane, wanted in connection with illegal arms dealings, fraud, Identity theft, reckless endangerment, embezzlement, so on and so forth. Started out as young as age 15."

"Hmm." Agent Tico hums. "That's very impressive."

"Well, it was." Rivas says. "30 years and an outstanding criminal career later, he's serving 20 years to life for the damnedest thing anyone could've ever imagined: drunk driving!" 

"Drunk driving?" Agent Tico asks when she notices the irritation growing on D.J.'s face. "That's what took you down? Well, sure. If you could get away with tens of millions of dollars in stolen military weaponry, why couldn't you just drive around with .28% B.A.L. in your blood, right? Wait. How did he end up with next to a life sentence?"

"A mountain of evidence from witnesses, who were in possession of some of the guns he sold them." Rivas says. "Amazing thing, isn't it?"

"Am I suppose to be impressed by all of this?" D.J. asks suddenly.

Paige is taken aback by his sudden outburst before continues. "No. You're suppose to be asking how you can help us and, in turn, help yourself."

Sighing out loud and forcefully, D.J.'s eyes drift back up to his two visitors before shrugging. "Okay. I'll play along." He inhales to say something but pauses. "Wait. I don't know your names."

"Counselor." Sol says.

"Agent." Paige says.

D.J.'s eyebrows shoot up. "O-K." He says, like he got the message. "Uh... How can I help you? So, you can help me?"

Rivas picks his briefcase up from off of the floor and places it on the table. He takes out a folder and hands it to Agent Tico. She, in taking it, places it on the table. She flips it open, revealing a collection of photos of dead bodies that are horribly maimed and bloodied. She turns them around so that D.J. can see them and lies them out across the table from jarring to utter disturbing.

D.J. flinches for a brief second but doesn't take his eyes off the photos as his eyes slide from right to left to back to right.

"Okay." ASA Rivas says, causing D.J. to look up at him. "I'm sure you've been put through the paces before. 'If-you-don't-do-this-for-us-you'll-get-worse-than-what-you've-already-got'. So, we'll spare you." He then points at the photos. "These are just a few of Dopheld Mitaka's victims. He seems to get a real kick out of torturing his victims before he ends their lives. And, as I'm sure you can tell, the more targets he goes after, the more bodies he drops. And the kills just keep getting more gruesome. If I've been informed correctly, you yourself have had a rather close call the last time you dealt with him, am I correct?"

D.J. says nothing. He just stares dagger at the ASA.

Taking the sudden silence as confirmation, Rivas goes on. "But, all of his victims have been adults. Never any children. This morning, he abducted a little girl from her school. This is the first time he's ever done this. And we're worried that he may have something more sinister in mind for this young girl since she's his youngest captive."

"W-w-why don't you just get to the part of where I should care about..." He waves his hand above the colored prints of brutalized corpses. "...any of this."

Sol looks at D.J. like he was looking at a ghost. There was no humanity in this man. Of course, Sol has had to deal with men like this and women, too. But, that doesn't make it any easier when he's dealing with someone who just doesn't give a damn.

Seeing The ASA's dismay, Paige rests her hand on his back, causing him to look at her. She gives him a look like she's got this and he silently thanks her. "How about bringing down the bastard who almost took you out?"

"Oh, it's never anything personal in our line of work." D.J. says with a smug smile. "Besides, I'm no rat."

Sol deflates, like all of his conviction was just gone. Guess trying to appeal to this guy's humanity won't work if he doesn't have any.

"Okay." Paige says. "How about this? If you don't agree to helping the FBI, The VCU, and 'Missing persons', you'll be slapped with additional charges of holding out on information that could be vital in us getting innocent civilians back."

"Are you threatening me with extra time?" D.J. asks. "Go right ahead! I'm in here for life! I'm going die in here anyway."

"Well, that 'life' might not be as long as you like when the First Order finds out what you know."

That took the smug look right off his face. "Which is what?" D.J. asks.

"That you've been making phone calls to various Agencies and law enforcement personnel." Paige says. "Claiming you've got some serious dirt on one S.L. Hux and several names including General Pryde, Persecutor Phasma, Boss Nines, and so on. And the info you gave us was so valuable, it gave you your freedom..." (She snaps her fingers) "...Just like that." 

"There's no way you can proof that in court." D.J. snickered.

"Oh, you wanna bet?" Paige asks. "Y'know, the Hollywood tech guys can do some really amazing things with people's voice. By using all of your recorded conversations with people over the years, we can make it look like you were more desperate of getting your sentence reduced than you were scared of the First Order."

"You can't do that." D.J. says with anxiety present in his voice. "That's not legal."

"Uh... actually, I can." Paige says. "My director, as well as President Windu himself, has given the entire taskforce of agents and officers on this case the power to do whatever is necessary to get innocent people out of this trafficking ring and back to their families. And any forced immigrants back home. And, in legal terms, it called 'obstruction of justice'. Do we have your attention now?"

D.J. frowns as he leans back in his chair.

Taking that as a 'yes', Paige goes on to say, "As stated before, we know that he attempted to murder you."

"That's p-p-putting it lightly." D.J. says. "He came at me with a machete, knocked me out when he tried to cut my damn head off. And next thing I knew, he was trying to take out my appendix!"

"Right." Agent Tico says. "Anyway, with this little girl missing, going on 7 hours now, we need to get to her by drawing him out."

D.J. sighed, shaking his head until he stopped to thinking about what 'Agent' just said. He looks up at her with a facial expression that showed by befuddlement, shock, and disagreement. "Wait." He says sternly. "Are you... are you trying to tell me...? A... A-are you p-p-planning on using me as bait?!" 

"We're prepared to offer you a deal." ASA Rivas says, speaking up again at last. "If you agree to work with us, you'll get a reduced sentence. We've already spoken with the warden. You're right at 5 years into your sentence. And you've served your time constructively. You've even displayed good behavior. Good behavior alone would inspire leniency. But, helping us bring in a bloodthirsty maniac, you'd be saving a little girl's life, helping shed light on the human trafficking scandal, maybe even take down the First Order itself. If you'd be willing to do that for us, it would mean your immediate freedom and all your records clean. Plus, it might serve as your own personal 'fuck you' to the man who almost killed you."

"Okay." D.J. says thoughtfully. "Well, it wouldn't really matter if these people are in jail or not. They still have a ton of influence on folks in the outside. Freedom won't mean very much to me if I'm dead. Now, would it?"

Rivas exchanges looks with Paige before looking back at D.J. "We could offer you witness protection."

"Witness Protection?!" DJ scoffed before laughing at the absurdity of that statement. "T-t-t-That is some f-f-funny shit! Listen to this g-g-guy! Witness Protection. L-l-like you guys would p-protect me. Do you k-k-know how many enemies I have in the P-p-police D-department? Even I don't k-know that. But, it's a G-G-god-damn l-l-lot of 'em! Besides, if you knew just how f-f-far the reach of the First Order could reach, you would've n-n-never made such a s-s-stupid statement. The only reason they let me l-l-live was because all of their business d-d-dealings with me were con-concluded with clues missing, p-p-people dying and bu-buildings going up in s-s-smoke! Not one shred of e-e-evidence to be found. Not one w-w-witness left behind. No d-damning testimonies. Just an a-ass-asshole with his hands in the c-c-cookie j-j-jar!"

"Well, in here or out there, people are gonna see you as a necessary hit." Rivas says.

"That's right." Paige says. "A rat just waiting to be a rat. I don't know. I figure you've got a better shot out there than in here. But, that's just me. I don't know. What do you think, Counselor?"

"Yeah." Rivas says. "I'd say so. But, it's up to him. But, then again, 'Don't Join' is his name for a reason. Or it is back to 'Dario Jane' again?"

Both Paige and Sol both look at D.J., waiting for his answer. 

D.J. looks at both 'Counselor' and 'Agent' with a look of utter angry and helpless "Ya bunch of _Stronzi_!" D.J. exclaimed.

* * *

Back at Precinct 15, the entire Violent Crimes Unit Officers and several other patrolmen gear up for the potential hell that could break loose.

"Y'know, if all goes well..." Temmin starts to say. "And 'if' is generous. But, if all goes well, we'll have taken down madman Mitaka, saved Bree Bainer, getting Mitaka to flip on the First Order and uncover the trafficking ring. All of it starting tonight. Not a bad start for a half-a-day's work."

"Yeah." Poe says as he places his loaded pistol into his side holster. "Wouldn't that be something? Arresting an insane murderer and taking down one of the biggest criminal organizations in recent memory." 

"We'd go down in official history as some of the great cops like Dave Toschi!" Said Slip.

"I don't know about all of that." Vi says. "I'd just settle with help saving lives."

"I'm with you." Rose says.

"It would be something else, wouldn't it?" Kaydel asks. "The one police unit no one had any faith in, doing something like that? We'd have our pick in cases."

"Yeah." Jessika says. "Not to mention, all the officers and patrolmen looking to join us upstairs."

"Not because they're interested in doing the job." Finn says. "But, because they'd get to work with a bunch of well known 'hero cops', who might as well be TV Cops."

"But, we'd be seen as the unit who gets the job done." Slip says. "And everytime we get called out to a crime scene, we'd get more people seeing us as the protectors we swore we'd be for this city. At least, we'd get more respect around here."

"But, the question then becomes what are you doing the job for?" Capt. Fett asks. "To help people or to get more notoriety? Because that's what it'll be. Our unit getting that kind of attention comes with some serious repercussions as well as the new celebrity status."

Everyone turns to see their Captain walking in.

"I just got back from Sarlacc." Captain Fett says. "It's taken a lot of time and effort, but we managed to get D.J. alone to talk to us."

Poe then steps up to his boss. His face showing a curious expression. "Captain? Are we all set?"

"Agent Tico and ASA Rivas just got 'Dario Jane' to agree to help us take in Mitaka." Capt. Fett says. "They're waiting upstairs for us so they can fill you all in on the details."

"Alright." Poe says. He then glances over his shoulder at the others in his Unit. "Let's go."

Everyone in the VCU all head back inside and take the stairs up to their desks.

Poe then leans into Finn, whispering in his ear. "So, assuming the impossible happens and we all get famous, I imagine your girlfriend might be thrilled, knowing she's got a real life hero as a boyfriend."

Finn scoffs. "More like vexed at the idea of it."

Poe chuckles. "Oh! Speaking of, how is she?"

"She's doing good." Finn says. "I'll let her know you asked you asked about her."

"Please do." Poe says. "I haven't seen her in so long."

"I know." Finn says. " It's getting harder and harder trying to get together with work. Me on call and her getting used to her new hours."

"New hours? She's got a new job?" Poe asks.

"Nah." Finn says. "New shift. She's been working nights for a while now. In fact, she's working tonight. It sucks that I can't really see her as often as I'd like. But, with a new job comes new conditions."

"I know that's right." Poe agrees. Poe then gets this look in his face that he's not sure if he should ask his best friend. It's one of those bordering on getting to personal kind of thing. But, he wants his boy to know that he's got his back. "Hey, I've been meaning to ask you..." Poe says. "Are you two good?"****<strike></strike>

"Yeah." Finn says. "Again, with working different times of the day, we can't always get together as often as we want. Why?"

Poe looks up at his partner like he insulted him somehow. He then says "Well, it's just that I haven't seen her in forever and you don't really talk about her much."

"Well, as the old saying goes, 'distance **make** the **heart grow fonder**'. But, it also brings out a lot of bitterness and resentment. Look, it's nothing we haven't dealt with before. We've agreed. First chance we get, we're gotta work on our relationship. So, believe me when I say that Rey and I are fine. Okay?"

Poe still seems a little unsure, but ultimately lets it go. "Alright. You know I'm just looking out for you, man."

"And I appreciate you." Finn says. "And there will be time for all of us to have a good time later. But, right now, let's just stick to the job."

Reaching their office, the entirety of the Violent Crimes Unit walk in to see the Assistant State's Attorney Sol Rivas, the FBI Profiler Paige Tico, Forensic Psychiatrist Statura, and legendary gunrunner and world classed asshole, 'D.J.' A.K.A. 'Don't Join', A.K.A. 'Dario Jane' there, waiting for them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment and share your thoughts!


	3. Getting People on the same page

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Discussions are made and the plan to move forward with the sting is given the green light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next chapter finally! This chapter is here to set up the main plot and get the ball rolling.
> 
> Please enjoy!
> 
> (Re-edited.)_(11/27/2019.)

On one of the desktop computer screens, there's the 3 O'clock news playing the up-to-the-minute special reports. 

"Live from Channel 9 station..." The voiceover announcer says. "...This is Channel 9 News at 3:00 with Korr Sella."

Sitting at the news desk is a beautiful young, black woman with a smile that lit up the room before the lights were even turned on.

"Good Afternoon, Coruscant." The young reporter says. "I'm Korr Sella for Channel 9 News at 3:00. Here's a look at our top story today. A kidnapping at Soar High Academy. Earlier this morning, an 8 year old girl named Bree Bainer was abducted from Soar High Academy in the East Rise. An Employee at the school, named Jocasta Nu, has shared with us that she remembers seeing an unfamiliar man in the school cafeteria, who was, quote, 'Looking over all of the kids, but was watching little Bree for a mighty long time.', end quote. When Slowen Lo asked Deputy chief Amilyn Holdo for more information, she refused to comment at this time. As we are now approaching the 7th hour mark, we have yet to be informed if Coruscant P.D. have a suspect nor has the details surrounding have been brought to light. However, they have assured us that the 'missing persons' unit was doing everything they could to get Bree Bainer back to her family safely. Channel 9 will be updating you on any further developments as soon as we get them. For all of your up-to-the-minute news, Please stay tuned." 

* * *

Agent Tico, ASA Rivas, and Forensic Psychiatrist Statura all explain to the Violent Crimes Unit all the particulars surrounding the success of this sting operation (Assuming it doesn't become a bigass blunder!) If they are successful in hooking in Dopheld Mitaka, locating and retrieving little Bree Bainer, getting Mitaka himself to flip on the First Order, and shut down their human trafficking operation, not only with it result in exposing the inner workings of the First Order. But, it would guarantee that D.J. would be allowed to walk out of prison, a freeman with a clean record. Providing he act as a federal witness for the FBI, of course!

While they are taking, FBI Director Bale Organa watches and listens in as he himself is projected up on a large monitor in the Coruscant Police/FBI Joint Taskforce. He explains that as soon as Mitaka is in cuffs, Mr. Dario Jane is to be considered a Federal Witness. He must then escorted to a private airfield immediately where a team of FBI Agents will be waiting for him and take him out of the city in an undisclosed location.

Once Mitaka is in the hands of the Task Force, they'll get him to as a snitch (Of sorts...) and ideally get him to act as a mole as he infiltrates the First Order and take it down from the inside. Statura has agreed to assist in getting Mitaka to turn against his future allies/future executors, though he's not on board with gambling with a living person's life, criminal or otherwise.

Also, if all goes well, this revelation would provide a means into what the First Order has been planning for these people during these abductions. That is, if everything goes according to plan.

_"Yes, yes."_ Director Organa says. _"I know what you're thinking. It's all a ridiculous longshot..."_

"A 'longshot' doesn't even begin to describe it." Poe says. "Too many variables. Too many things that could go wrong. I mean, there are too many 'what-ifs' here, Director." Poe says. "What if we get Mitaka and he doesn't tell us where Bree is? What if he knows absolutely nothing about the First Order? What if it all goes wrong? What if the First Order comes gunning for him, no matter how many people stand between them and him?"

_"I understand your concerns, Detective Dameron."_ Says Director Organa. _"But, we only have a small window of time to work in and not a lot of room to work with. We got take the opportunities we're presented with. And that small window is closing fast. We need results! FAST! ...Now. Do we have any way of getting Jane into contact with this Mitaka character? Any mutual associates? Anyone Mitaka still trusts?"_

"It took some digging and asking around, but I think we've got just the thing." Finn says. "5 years since D.J.'s been away, his replacement in the illegal arms game, Johnny Valo, has seized control of all of the guns coming in and out of Coruscant. Not to mention, he's in full control of distribution all over the East Coast. Between his own merchandize and Jane's old connections to the First Order, Valo's the 'go-to' guy for all the latest and greatest in stolen armaments. Many of Jane's former customers are now all of his."

"Valo? Yeah, I remember hearing about this little prick." Temmin says. "He was an 'up-and-coming' thief who used to rob grocery store semis to sell to folks out in Solitary Square. But, he was never any good at it. He kept getting caught, because he left his finger prints all over the vehicles he robbed. And one driver who lives in S.S. recognized him and helped to get him arrested. He's had the worst luck imaginable... Or, at least until he met Jane."

"Yeah." Jessika says. "After that, he became a gunrunner, bribing U.S. troopers to sell him any weapons that were set to be destroyed by the U.S. Government for Jane. He soon when into business for himself and the student became part of the competition."

"Fascinating." Fett says with a tone of disbelief. "Excuse me. While all of this is really interesting, can we just get to the punchline already? How can we use this?"

"Well, we can uh..." Finn starts, getting the whole room's attention. "We can make it look like D.J.'s been outsourcing... getting his hands on some serious merchandize and is setting up to go back into business." Finn says. "We have some of our C.I.s posing as customers. Maybe even get the word out to several gangs... like G.D.G. and Kanjiklub... Convince them to come and see what he's got in stock and show that he's ready to start making deals. Agents and Officers in plain clothes will act as muscle and 'associates', and we'll make it look like this guy is fresh out of Sarlacc and is already hitting the ground running."

"Word of mouth will start circulating that D.J.'s back on the streets." Vi says. "It'll spread like wildfire and even get folks curious to see what's going on. Once the rumors gets back to Valo, he's, of course, gonna wonder if it's nothing more than rumors. D.J.'s doing 20 years to life. So, he's got nothing to worry about. But, he'll still wanna come around to see for himself and what he'll see is not only is D.J. not doing 20 to life right now, but he's already set up shop and is back in business. He'll see for himself what kind of damage Jane can do to his 'Organization'. And knowing him, he'll show up, flexing his own muscles. He's a big boy now. He's not out here, playing games. So, naturally, any would-be competitors looking for clientele should steer clear of the East Coast. And one look at the operation Jane's got going for him, Valo's gonna wanna get rid of D.J. permanently."

"Which means he's gonna be shopping around for someone to take him out." Poe says. 

"And that someone'll be Mitaka." Slip says. "No doubt about it."

"Well, of course." Rose comments. "Nobody else would be as crazy to even attempt to take a shot at Jane. He's a magnet for law enforcement... and given Mitaka thinking that he's got divine immunity from the police, he's bound to come in, looking to settle the score."

_"Well, this all sounds very well thought out."_ Organa comments. _"But, tell me... if you would. How do you imagine that Valo would go to Mitaka for this hit? While it's true Jane threatens his cashflow. But, there's gotta be others more insane than Mitaka who'll do it for nothing. In fact, why wouldn't he just do the job himself? Or that Mitaka would even be interested in going after Dario Jane? He's wanted for kidnapping." _

"Well, that's just it." Fett speaks up. "He isn't. We purposefully kept Mitaka's name out of the news outlets so far. So, even though he's aware by now that his actions of kidnapping Bree Bainer has now gotten attention, he can breath a little bit because his picture hasn't plastered up by the media yet. So, as far as he's concerned, he's still in the clear. But, with the kind of hardware that D.J.'s gonna have at his warehouse, plus the hearsay we put out there, Valo won't be able to ignore the rumors for too long. He'll come and see the amount of product that Jane's gonna be moving. And he won't be able to afford the competition Jane's gonna bring once his arms-trafficking business is open for business. So, once he's laid eyes on him, he's gonna go and see who he can use to take D.J. out. But, as Tico said, Jane there is just too high profile right now. Killing D.J. himself or having one of his own guys do it is all gonna come back on him. It'll be really bad news for some of his partners in the First Order if he's the one caught holding the smoking gun. He might get forced to take the fall. Might even get taken out himself."

"But, with our C.I.'s passing the word around about Jane, it's gonna put Valo in a serious jam." Kaydel says. "He's gonna wanna be on the lookout for a professional hitman... Someone who has something to gain in killing Jane. And, as stated before, that would mean Mitaka." Kaydel says. "He's tried to kill Jane before but screwed up. He's gonna see as his second chance to go after D.J. which... once Valo sees the muscle Jane's got, will probably mean that there's gonna be a lot more guns that we originally thought there was gonna be."

_"What?!" _Director Organa questions loudly._ "I thought you just said that if Valo or any of his men are caught, going after Jane, that it's their necks on the chopping block. If that's the case, then why would Valo still bring them in if it's going to end badly for him and them?"_

"Assigning D.J.'s protection detail as his hired muscle means that Valo would be a fool to take chances. So, just to say what we're all thinking... there's bound to be a gunfire." Temmin says. "We can try and prevent it, but there's never any guarantees. Look, the bottom line here is Valo's gonna want D.J. dead. And, needless to say, the more bodies he's got standing between them, the less chances he's got on making that happen with just one man. Mitaka's gotten pretty good at killing. However, he's still just the one man. He won't be able to take on that many well trained officers and agents by himself without getting killed. So, he'll need the backup. He'll need support." 

"Which means more people are gonna be brought into the fray... which means a greater chance for things to go wrong." Slip says. "More guns on site means more chances of things going south."

"Well, that's not gonna be a big problem." Rose says. "With Officers and Agents undercover and a S.W.A.T. team on standby, we're gonna got this thing resolved long before it could get to that."

'Probably shouldn't have said that last part out loud, Rose.' Finn thinks to himself. "Anyway..." He says much louder. "...That's our plan to set up the sting. Now, we just need to get to work."

"'Get to work?!'" A loud Female voice was heard coming from behind everyone upstairs.

Everyone turns to see the Deputy chief of Police herself, Amilyn Holdo, storming in the 15th District. Wearing her uniform blues, complete with badge pinned on her white buttoned down shirt, she storms up the stairs, bringing with her two other officers, acting as her personal entourage, with a look that means she's not here for pleasantries. The room echoes thanks to her heels clicking loudly with every step.

"You need to 'get to work'?! Get to work on what?!" Holdo questions. "I hope it's not this case! I've been hounded by reports and the Mayor all Goddamn day long! I better not hear that you're just getting started working on this case! Because that would _not_ be the smart thing to say to me right now!"

Captain Fett, exhaling sharply, steps forward to address the Deputy chief. "Ma'am..." He starts.

"Just... spare me the 'Ma'am', and get on with whatever it is you've got going on up here!" Holdo stresses.

Poe then steps forward. "...We've gotten things set up for a sting. The best way we can draw Dopheld Mitaka out of hiding is to use Dario Jane to lure out his old pal, Johnny Valo. We need Valo to believe that Jane poses a serious risk to his cash flow. Since killing D.J. himself would attract too much attention to himself, he's gonna need to send someone else to do it. Someone who has just as much to gain from Jane's death as him. Namely Dopheld Mitaka. Now, Once we get the word out..." 

"Excuse me." Holdo says shutting her eyes, shaking her head, and holding her hands up to silence Fett. "I'm sorry, Lieutenant. But, I'm having a lot of words being thrown at me right now. None among them are things I actually DO wanna hear. Like 'we found the bastard', 'we're moving out to make an arrest', 'the little girl's been located and we're bringing her home...' You know, statements that I was hoping to hear first thing when I came up here this afternoon. But, it's just more of what I've come to expect from your unit, Captain. All rhetoric about how you go 10 miles out of your way to get to where you're going."

"Ma'am, have you been informed by anyone on what we're about to do here?" Fett asks. 

"Oh, no! I've been 'informed'." Holdo says, before she looks at the large monitor in front of Fett's office directly at Organa himself. "I was 'informed' by Director Organa there that Dopheld Mitaka was close to being taken down... And that Bree Bainer was gonna be returned safely to her mother and how Mitaka himself gonna be the key to getting inside the First Order." She stops, pausing like she was waiting for someone to correct her or add to what she's been told. "Was there anything else? Or were you feeding me bullshit too?!"

"We uh..." Paige started saying but stops. She quickly looks around the room at the others, looking at them as they looked at her. "...We uh... we got Dario Jane to agree to be bait in order to lure in both Johnny Valo and Dopheld Mitaka. We've got Jane locked up in the interrogation room."

Holdo then frowns deeply at Paige, like she was some sort of space alien.

"Did the Director not tell you that?" Paige asks.

"No, he did not!" Holdo says matter-of-factly. "So, why don't you tell me now?"

Agent Tico takes the next 2 minutes just catching the Deputy Chief up on what they've just been discussing prior to her coming upstairs. When she was through, Agent Tico waited to hear Holdo's response.

Well, after hearing all of that, on top of all the hell Holdo's been catching all morning, she felt like she was drunk! She just couldn't understand what the hell was even going on anymore! She even staggered around about like she was gonna pass out at any minute. "Hmm!" She hums. "Oh, yeah! He completely failed to tell me any of this! ...He failed to mention that Dario Jane was to be flipped and made to be a snitch for the Feds that Johnny Valo was gonna, somehow, play a part in making this happen. This is the first time I'm hearing about any of this. And having Johnny Valo that close to our soon-to-be federal witness is something I would never authorize. And neither would Mayor Antilles, I'm sure."

"Well, making sure word gets to Valo that Jane is out of jail and back on the ordnance market, it'll threaten not only his business..." Fett says. "...But, also his relationship with the First Order. It's our first real chance in God knows how long to get in close to that syndicate. Getting a closer look inside and exposing it's underbelly."

"Sounds more like you're gasping at straws to me." Holdo says. "And how do you know Valo won't suspect a trap when he sees Jane miles away from Sarlacc and out of handcuffs? What makes you think he even considers him worth the trouble?"

"Well, myself, Statura, Agent Tico, ASA Rivas, and Director Organa would fill you in on all of the details." Fett says. "Why don't we all step into my office?"

"What, so I can have more words being thrown at me? I really hope I didn't make the trip over here just to have a discussion on a 'what-if' scenario." Holdo says. "I really hope that that's not what about to happen here. I just got off the phone with the Police Commissioner and he's really interested in hearing why the Legendary Violent Crimes Unit hasn't been proactive in looking for this little girl. I'm glad to see all of you discussing the problem and making plans. Though I must admit that I'm a little apprehensive as to what you all are going to do about said problem."

"Uhh... Excuse me, Deputy chief." Poe says, getting his Deputy chief's attention. He then gives her a quick run-through on what the VCU has planned involving the whole 'meet-&-greet' between D.J. and Valo. He even tells her about what's been going on with the officers on the street. Once he explained the whole thing to her, he then waited for her response.

Holdo nods her head, allowing herself time to digest all of what she as just told. Once she was done, she asks, "And uh... how long is all of this gonna take? In case any of you forgot, we've still got a little girl missing here." 

"Including a lot of other people in and around Coruscant, especially other children." Statura says. "That's one thing you don't have to worry about, Commander. We're making sure all of our bases are covered. Now, for how long this'll be, first, we've already got our location picked out with boots on the ground, covering every area. We just need to figure out how we're gonna get an arsenal of guns to the docks. But, once we've done that, it's just a matter of getting the word out. Any like Vi said, it won't be too long before Valo gets drawn to the Warehouse. Once he gets there, we can carry out the sting and still have room for adjustments if we need them." 

"Yeah, you make it all sound very simple, Statura." Holdo says. "Well, I hope, for Bree's sake, it all goes exactly as planned. Because we're working entirely on assumptions here with nothing solid and it's already been almost 8 hours." Even though Holdo felt like she was already drunk, by some miracle, if everything does manage to goes well, even if it's not exactly as planned, she's definitely gonna get plastered after this.

"Alright, then." Fett says. "Then let's not waste one more minute speculating or talking about this again. Poe? You and Finn go brief our 'special guest' about the role he's about to play in all this."

Finn and Poe nod in acknowledgement before they head off to the interrogation room.

"Now, what we really need is enough firearms to makeup Dario Jane's fabled mobile arsenal. Director Organa, is there any way we could get some of your team to assemble a large cache of weapons for us to use in the sting?"

Paige then looks behind at the monitor to see her boss nodding his head.

_"Of Course." _ Director Organa says. _"Whatever you need. Paige? Why don't you head on over to your team now? I'll brief them while you're in transit. They should be ready once you're there."_

"Yessir." Paige says.

"Alright. Temmin, Jessika, and Vi?" Fett calls out. "You three go with Agent Tico. Since we need them along with their weapons, we're gonna need you two to act as D.J.'s suppliers while they act as the muscle and associates."

"You should also head over to Evidence." Deputy chief Holdo says. "Inside that old Archive are crates and crates of guns seized from D.J.'s arsenal and subsequent raids on gangs and trigger-happy drug dealers." 

Everyone, with the exception of Poe, all look at Holdo like she had horns growing out of her forehead.

Holdo looks up from the floor and sees the way all the others are looking at her. Shaking her head, she huffs. "Don't give me that look. I still think that this is a desperate plan. But, if it results in all 3 of those bastards dead and that little girl returned to her family, then it'll have been worth it."

"Hmm!" Fett hums, sporting a small smirk. "Well, you heard her." Fett says.

Temmin, Jessika, and Vi go to fulfill the order.

"Vale, Tico, and Connix." Fett says. "You meet up with Surge. I want surveillance cameras in every nook and cranny you can find. And we obviously won't be able to hear what's going on inside that warehouse... not unless we have clear audio. Mikes and things will be hooked up to Jane and the others. But, see if Surge can't rig up some kind of audio system for us back in mobile command. Undercover personnel will have mikes. But, we need a sound system of sorts here. So, be sure to have whatever counts as mikes these days close enough to where the action takes place. But, away from where any of the assholes can see them. Ya got it?"

"Got it"/"Got it."/"Copy that." Slip, Rose, and Kaydel all say in unison before they head out.

"Alright, then." Capt. Fett says. "Now, we just need to keep actual civilians, agents, and uniform officers from getting caught in the crossfire should there be one. And keeping any agitators, both seen and unseen, from ruining the sting." He talks among Director Organa, Agent Tico, ASA Rivas, Statura, and Deputy chief Holdo. But, every word exchanged between the other 5 all fall on Holdo's deaf ears and every word is drowned out due to her distraction.

As both Poe and Finn place their guns in their desks and locks them up, Amilyn couldn't take her eyes off of Poe. Her back was turned to Capt. Fett and the others, so they couldn't see the look of longing and affection she had in her eyes for Poe. She lets herself smile as she sees him smirking at something he just said to his professional partner, Finn. Her eyes stay glue to him as he follows Finn over to the hallway where the interrogation rooms were.

If there was any truth to what Zay Versio had stated before, then Deputy chief Amilyn Holdo, the wife of the honorable judge Orson Krennic, was in a relationship with one of her subordinates. And of the VCU's civilian administrative aide knows about them, then who else does?

"Deputy chief!" Captain Fett calls out, finally getting her attention. "Are you still with us?"

"Ah, yes." Holdo says. "Yes, Captain whatever you need to make this work. Shall we discuss things in your office?"

Holdo strutted right past Jango and walked right into his office like it was hers.

Jango, on the verge of grinding his teeth out of sheer aggravation, simply exhaled and invited the others inside as he followed after Holdo. Once everybody was in, Fett slammed the door behind him. 

* * *

"So, it's t-t-true then?" D.J. asks while he sits up to better converse with the visiting Detectives. Poe sat across from him at the table while Finn stood up behind him, his back leaning against the mirror (which, of course, doubled as a window to the viewing room behind him. "J-j-johnny Valo? _He's_ the big-time gunrunner in town?"

"Who woulda thunk it, right?" Finn asks. "But, yeah. Word around town is he's the go-to-guy in the stolen ordnance game."

"Ha! How about that?" D.J. asks. "Ole John-boy."

"Oh, yeah." Poe confirms.

"Hmm!" D.J. says. "S-s-so then... T-tell me. I've b-been hearing a lot of things about John-b-boy b-back in lockup."

"Have you?" Finn asks. "What kind of things?"

"Oh, y'know..." D.J. says, sitting there, waiting to see if Either Finn or Poe or both were gonna walk through the door he just opened. He's curious about Johnny Valo's credible. But, he's playing things pretty close to the vest. He's asking them about Valo's business without jut actually asking them. See, he knows what he knows. If he reveals anything, then the cops were just gonna fuck with him and feed him bullshit. He wants to see if what he's been told by the cons inside lines up with what the cops know about him, working from the outside. See if these rumors hold any water to the cops' truth.

Poe, almost sensing this, exchanges looks with Finn before he goes on to say, "He's in charge of running hardware up and down the east coast. He's the kind of guy who can solve all your problems. From beefing up home security to protecting your territory to helping you wage a fucking war on another country. From what we've seen, he's a good man to know."

"He's an even better friend to have." Finn says. "Also the worst enemy you can imagine. He's got the credibility to call in hits on some of the most powerful people, regardless of where they are in the world. Other criminals, civilians, celebrities, mafioso's, politicians... Hell, he even tried to have President Mothma killed for no reason other than he could until he changed his mind! No one is off-limits. If he wants them gone, they get gone."

D.J. then lets Finn and Poe know that he knows they're just fucking with him. The expression on his face is one of amusement and blatant disbelief. "Okay, n-now I know you're b-b-bullshitting!" D.J. says. "No one has t-t-that kind of pull anymore. Not guys like him. W-who is he? He's a nobody! He's nothing! He's not someone anyone would be taking seriously. You're b-b-blowing this all s-s-shit outta p-p-proportion."

"You don't believe us." Poe says, though it's not a question. "That's fine. You don't have to believe us." He says sternly. "Just ask your boy Artimage Hux."

Once more, D.J.'s whole disposition falters. He knows not to question Hux. EVER! If he did, he wouldn't leave that meeting alive. 

"...He'll say the exact same thing I'm about to..." Poe starts. "No one fucks with Johnny Valo."

"And if you don't believe him, then you're more than welcome to try and take out Valo yourself." Finn says. "In fact, we'll even provide you with a gun. Or... Nah. Maybe you call a hit on him. Your name might still mean something on the street. maybe you _should_ give it a shot. All the same, I'd really hate to be in the shoes of the guy who killed him. There's bound to be some serious consequences for something like that. All things concerned, life in jail wouldn't be the worse thing. If he had connections in the First Order, and they found out what you did or tried to do? You'd be far better off if you were already dead and buried."

"I heard that." Poe says. "Because that would be the only thing that, ironically, would keep you safe from those people."

Well, if it was D.J.'s plan to get the truth from the police, then he should be happy. Because he just got a shit-ton of it just dropped in his lap. He's not connected to the F.O. anymore. But, if Valo is... well, he's already been told what would happen to him... without actually being told in length. And, once again, he just looks defeated. "I don't believe this." D.J. comments. "I-I didn't w-w-wanna believe it. H-how did he get so b-big so fast? I couldn't b-b-believe the shit I was hearing w-while on the inside. Y'know, w-when I first met him, he was just w-whopping 6'3" tall, starry-eyed teenager who just wanted to be apart of a crew. He was a-...always ready f-for a-anything. No matter when or w-where the action was. Ahh, the kid meant well, but despite his eagerness to please, he was soft as wet shit. He usually got k-knocked on his ass n-not even 5 seconds into the fight. He wasn't too b-bright, either. Always getting caught by the cops because he always forgot his gloves. He was always aiming above his weight class. And now, s-somehow, for the last 5 years, he went and made a big name for himself by selling _my_ merchandize. And hasn't been locked up since. Something about this really doesn't add up." 

Both Poe and Finn exchange a combination of looks. Amusement and teasing. Poe looks up at Finn with a smirk and raised eyebrow when D.J.'s looking down at the table. He even lifts his arm and gestures at him, causing Finn to snicker under his breath while shaking his head.

"Well, maybe he's been wising up." Finn suggested. "Maybe he's been learning the trade a bit better."

"Or maybe someone's covering his little ass!" D.J. throws out. "Y'know, I taught that l-l-little f-fucker, Valo, everything he knows." D.J. goes on to say. "From how to make c-contacts and getting people to m-move the merch-merchandize from place to place for you. He was all set to g-g-get his operation started. But, he could never get things right. He always managed to fuck things up. It has to be my old crew. They've gotta be the ones doing all the work while he takes all the credit. Lazy b-b-bastard. He can't even be b-bothered to make his own moves. He has to put his name on everything his crew... my crew does. And, as long as I w-was on the I-inside, he got to live life at the top. Lazy b-bastard couldn't be a-a-anymore w-worthless if he t-t-tried to be."

"Yah! Well, that's a shithead for ya." Poe says. "The disrespect. The taking credit where credit isn't due... Took you getting knocked off your pedestal for him to have his time in the spotlight. By standing where you used to. Goddamn! The _Disrespect_. Yeah. With your... well, _his_ business in full swing, he's got no need for a boss or competition. But, once he hears that his old mentor is out of prison and back in the guns business... well, just imagine the warm welcome he'd have for the man who's been both to him." 

"Yeah." Finn says. "Old boss, new rival, same annoying asshole. It makes sense. If anyone wanted to off this motherfucker (Referring to D.J.), it'd be him." Finn looks over at D.J., who's just glaring at him under his eyelids. "Of course, we're not gonna let that happen." He says in a mock, unconvincing way with a smile on his lips.

D.J. looks dead at Finn with a look that screams 'I don't trust your lying ass!'

"We'll be keeping a close eye on you throughout the whole thing." Finn goes on to say. "Both with the meeting with Valo and with the arrival of Mitaka."**** <strike></strike>

"Yeah, you got nothing to worry about." Poe says, getting D.J.'s attention off of Finn slowly before his eyes fall on him. "Between the VCU, Coruscant Patrolmen, FBI agents, and S.W.A.T. You'll have even more protection than the president himself. Of course, you'll have to wear a wire."

"Of course." D.J. comments. "W-w-w-why not just s-s-_serve_ me up to the teen titan? Not when you could throw a wire in for k-kicks and g-g-get my a-ass stabbed first?"

"...AND..." Poe says with a raised voice as if D.J. had just rudely intruded him while he completely ignores D.J.s' complaints. "...you won't be able to leave a cell at any time until the feds are ready for you. Which wouldn't be anytime soon." Poe continues. "However, it's all for your protection. It's not ideal. I know. But, the deal does get sweeter if you play along. I mean, a 20-to-lifer getting immediate freedom? That's as good a deal as you can get. _If_ you hold up your end of the deal. In the meantime, you'll be our responsibility."

"Hah!" D.J. scoffed sounding, amused. "Like any of you give a damn. You'd j-j-just as w-well kill me yourselves if y-y-you had a h-h-half a chance." He chuckles to himself. "Y'know, before the ASA and that little s-s-smart-ass FBI girl came to S-sarlacc, I had m-made up my m-mind 3 years ago t-that... t-that little 8x10 cell was gonna be w-where I was gonna spend the rest of my life in. 2...20 years to life. I was n-n-never getting out of S-sarlacc. I was g-gonna die on the inside and they were gonna s-stick me in a m-meat locker. And then those guys f-f-forced me to basically risk m-my life for a bunch of nobodies I was n-never gonna meet anyway... while they... and you... d-dandled freedom in front of my nose. Asking m-me to die... putting my own life on the line for a bunch of n-nobodies. Putting me out there is o-only gonna gain you o-one thing: Me d-dead. No one cared about me being locked up for the rest of my life because I w-w-wasn't a threat to t-them. Not as long I didn't talk. And I was gonna be fine because they knew that I w-wasn't gonna talk. Don't you get it?! I was safe on the in-inside. I was locked-up. But, I was safe. Out there, I'm just a t-target waiting to be hit! I gotta t-t-too many enemies out here! From the First Order to the cops to Valo... If anybody wanted to off me, they would've done it long before now. Do you ever think about that? You putting me out here like a w-w-worm on a hook?!" 

Poe, who's had his fingers all interlocked together, his hands resting on his lap while listening (pretending to listen) to D.J., looks at him with a distressed expression. Like he never really considered that Dario Jane was probably safe on the inside. Because he knew to keep his mouth shut. Or, if he did decide to speak up about the things he knows about the F.O., life in Sarlacc wouldn't be very long. Even if no one believed a word he said, he would have eyes watching his every move. And as soon as he was alone, he would get somebody's shiv and be left to bleed out.

Regardless, there's something far more important to worry about than some ex-arms trafficker pissing himself about his own problems. There's still a little girl out there, just waiting for them to come and save her and he has to sit here and listen to this man bitch on and on. An 8 year old girl's life is on the line and this asshole won't shut up about how it's so unfair that he's the worm on the hook when people have died because he sold weapons to folks with the cash to get them. He really doesn't give a shit about Dario Jane. But, he really wants him to shut the FUCK UP!!

Poe looks at D.J. with raised eyebrows before he shuts his eyes. He sit up straight in his chair, inhaling deeply before exhaling forcefully. He then opens his eyes, giving D.J. a look that said in big bold letters:

**["I... DON'T... GIVE... A... GODDAMN WHAT HAPPENS TO YOU!"]**

"Huh..." Poe hums. "Maybe I should've brought my violin and a recorder with me after all. But, maybe next time we have one of these talks, you can put it to music... maybe record your first audiobook! Look, we don't give a shit about any of this." He says in a tone so sternly even Finn is slightly unsettled by his best friend now. "Listen to me, jerk-off! You belong to the Violent Crimes Unit! You don't have any rights... you don't have any feelings or any fucking thing to complain about! Now, we've already told you everything you need to know about what's going happen next. So, I suggest you stop fucking whining and get with the fucking program! Get back into the fucking mindset of the asshole from 5 years ago. Stop thinking like 'Dario Jane'. We don't need 'Dario Jane'! Bring back 'Don't Join'! Y'know, that piece of shit you were before Prison made you such a soft bitch! Now, we're getting ready to move. I suggest you do the same and do it quick!" Poe then gets up to his feet, gripping the folders on the table and leaving out of the room with an enraged scowl. He swings the door open wide and slams it behind him.

Finn looks a bit disturbed by his best friend's sudden outburst before he straightens up and notices D.J., who's dropped his head down on his folded arms, which were resting on the table.

* * *

Heading back to the operations room, Poe is still wearing that same scowl on his face. But, once he reaches the center of the hallway, he stops. He then slams his left side up against the wall in between two closed doors.

As he leans against the wall, the look on his face does reveal that he was, in fact, troubled. He put on an amazing front back there. But, now, he was just wondering if he and the rest of his Unit weren't just signing this man's death warrant if they put him out there. Both Vi and Statura have both said that they didn't feel it was justifiable to be putting a man's life on a hook. Especially if things go wrong and that man dies on their watch.

'Fucking shit!' Poe thought to himself. He then presses his back against the wall and slides down into a sitting position, like he was in an invisible chair. He rested his hands on his knees as he stared at the floor. 'Why should I care if that motherfucker lives or dies? People have killed each other and regular folks thanks to the guns he's been selling. Not to mention he's the only one who can get them a step closer to finding Bree Bainer alive. If, at all. If he got shot, it'd be of his own doing. No skin of their backs if a criminal, who sells guns to other criminal, gets done in by a criminal who pulled on gun on him? _**<Sigh!>**_ I shouldn't care. So, why do I?'

"Lieutenant?"

Poe looks over to see Deputy chief Holdo looking down at him. With a deep sigh, Poe stands up straight and gets off of the wall. He looks at her more directly and nods in acknowledgement. "Deputy chief..."

"Sounds like things got pretty heated in there." Holdo comments. "More on your part, it sounds like. Is there something wrong, Dameron?"

"Uhh... there was a little confusion about the convict thinking he was a freeman." Poe states. "A few hours out of his cell and the fresh air really went to his head. But, Finn and I straighten him out. There's Nothing to be concerned about."

Holdo frowns at him slightly. It's clear that she doesn't fully believe, as her expression isn't a confident one. But, it isn't a concerned one, either. At least, not about the state about the prisoner. It looked more like... worry? "Uh-huh." She hums.

Poe notices as he walks back toward his desk when Holdo walks up to him quickly, gently grabbing his wrist. He looks up at her with a concerned expression of his own.

"Got a minute?" Holdo asks in a whisper. "I need a word."

Poe frowns slightly before he gives her a nod.

She then gesturing that they move this to one of the viewing rooms adjacent to an interview room. She walks over to a door and opens it. She looks inside to make sure that the room was empty before she beckons him inside with her.

With a look of hesitation and lowering of his head, Poe shakes it before he slowly goes over to join the commander inside. He walks right by her and she closes the door behind them. 

* * *

Poe walks right up to a wall, sliding his hands down his face in frustration. He hears the door locking behind him and drops his hands before he turns around. To his surprise, he is immediately pulled into a kiss by Holdo. His eyes widen at this sudden surprise before his brain caught on to what was happening. He then returns the affection and kisses her back. 

Amilyn holds Poe's face in her hands as she kisses him passionately. Poe's left hand cups the back of her neck while his right affectionally holds her left cup. The feel of her soft lips sends a fervor right through his entire body. Goosebumps cover his skin as he feels his heart pounding and his shaft starting to harden. He lets his hands drift down to her ass and grabs it, getting her even more excited as she slowly starts pushing him up against the wall.

Both her and Poe moan into each other's mouths before they finally pull away to catch their breath. But, they don't leave each other's space. They give one another just enough space to breath.

"Amilyn..." Poe whispers. "Everyone's getting ready to move out to set up Valo and Mitaka. We don't have time for this."

"I know." 'Amilyn' says. "I'm sorry, honey. I... I just wanted to come check on you. We all heard you shouting from Fett's office. So, I came over to see what's wrong."

"Nothing." Poe stresses.

Amilyn still doesn't seem to believe him. "Are you sure?" She asks sounding really worried here. "I've never heard you sound so angry before."

"Like I said before, everything's fine." Poe says. "D.J. started whining and I had to straighten him out. End of story."

"Okay." Amilyn whispers while panting. She nods her head, illustrating that she believes him. "Okay." She lets her hands slide from his face down to his abs before she steps away from him. She then turns around and starts to walk back to the door but stops. Poe, still panting himself, watches her as she bites the tip of her index finger in a nervous tick. She seemed like she was really bothered by something but has yet to say so. She uses her left hand as a prop to hold her right hand to her mouth.

Poe pushes himself away from the wall and steps towards his Deputy Chief/Lover, his forehead creased. "What's..." Poe starts to say. "What's with that look?" 

Amilyn looks up at Poe in confusion.

You're doing it again." Poe states. "You know you bite your cuticles when you're trying to make up your mind about something. And I know you have doubts about the sting. Who doesn't? But, that's not what's bothering you. So, What's got you so worked up?" 

Amilyn goes to correct him, but again, Poe stops her.

"Don't bother denying it. You've got something you need to get off your chest." Poe says. "That's really why we're even in here now. I know you didn't just pulled me in here to kiss me." Poe says. "At least, I hope not." He said sternly.**** <strike></strike>

Amilyn lets her arms drop and she grabs her left bicep. She gives Poe a look that was a mixture of annoyance and levity. Poe knows her so well, it bothers her. "I thought I was here to see about _you_."

Poe shrugs with a smirk.

"But, you're right." Amilyn says. "There is an issue I need help on. And I'm hoping that I could got your input on what's going on in my head."

"Hmm?" Poe hums, letting her know her was listening.

"Do you trust this Agent Tico, Poe?" Amilyn asks in a gentle voice for the first time since she's been here.

Poe's eyebrows are arched as he fails to understand the question. "I... I don't understand."

"Well, You've worked with her on a number of cases before." Amilyn says. "You know her better than I do. It's really hard to get a read on her. Does she seem like the kind of agent who's more about doing the job right than she's concerned with Politics?"

"Well, sure." Poe says. "We've worked together back when I was in organize crime. She's compassionate and determined to help however she can. She's even stuck around long after her team headed back to D'Qar as a point to check up on anyone who was wounded, attended funerals to pay her respects. Even helped a family deal with the fact that a blood relative was a sexual sadist by smoothing things over with the victims and their loved ones. So, I'd say she's solid. Where's... where is this coming from? What about her that has you on edge?"

"I don't know. I was just in the middle of a conversation with Fett, Rivas, Tico and Organa. I don't think the feds are the least bit interested in getting Bree Bainer back, let alone helping the victims of the It seems more likely that Director Organa is more interested in uncovering the First Order's human trafficking racket like it was some major achievement. Like the F.B.I. would get bragging rights or like it's some sort of publicity stunt. Everything I heard was about protecting Jane, giving the best sort of setup. To help me feel more comfortable. He went on and on about a new identity, new background... a clean slate... a villa in the Naboo countryside..."

"Sounds like this is some kind of retirement plan for a secret agent." Poe says. "If that secret agent was in some overblown Hollywood bullshit."

"I'm definitely getting that sense from them." Amilyn says. "I was never overly fond of federal agents. But, this really has me feeling more paranoid than I usually am." 

"Okay. Uh... well, whatever that's about, I can promise you one thing: You can count on Paige. Agent Tico..." Poe says, correcting himself. "She's someone you can count on when it comes down to it. Ah... you know what? We can iron this all out later. It's not a bridge we have to cross yet. But, if or when that bridge becomes a bridge, then we'll deal with it as it comes. In the meantime, I've gotta go help with securing our location."

"Right." Amilyn says. "Of course. Uh... please... be careful. Don't do anything crazy. Don't try and be a hero. Just do the job."

"Yes, ma'am." Poe says with a playful salute.

Amilyn just rolled her eyes before she plants a tender kiss on Poe's lips.

Poe then heads over to the door. But, before he opens it, he holds up his hand like he's telling her to say back. "Give me about... give me 5 minutes to head out first."

Amilyn nods, remembering that she and Poe were suppose to be having a secret romance.

Poe then opens the door and looks at both ends of the hallways. He then slowly steps out, turning around to face the door and closes it.

"POE!"

Poe jumps two feet the air and does a complete 180 degree turn simultaneously! Somehow... Now, he's facing Finn. Man nearly caused Poe to jump out of his skin. "Finn! Jesus CHRIST!" He feels his heart pounding against his chest like a jackhammer. "Man! You scared me to half to death!"

"Sorry." Finn says, holding his hands up as a gesture for him to calm back down. "But, I've been looking all over for you. Captain Fett wants us to head over to the warehouse with Jane in tow. Patrolmen are already there and our C.I.'s have been getting the word out. Now, we need to get out there right away."

"Okay." Poe says. "Yeah. Did we get Jane squared away?"

"Yeah, I already put him in the back of an unmarked car." Finn says. "I just came back up here to look for you."

"Okay, then." Poe says, brushing off his sleeve. "Let's go."

"Alright." Finn says, as they return to their desks. "Hey. What were you doing there anyway?"

"Oh, just the usual." Poe says. "Just using the dark room to think. Sometimes it's hard to be able to think with all these damn lights and cameras everywhere."

"The dark room isn't that dark." Finn says.

"Well, it's dark enough." Poe says. "You ought try it sometime. It's good to just sit somewhere alone in the dark and get your thoughts together. Y'know? It's good for the mind."

"Sitting alone in the dark is good for the mind?" Finn asks, sounding amused. "You're a strange one, Poe."

Poe's response is indistinct as the only thing Amilyn can hear now is her own beating heart.

Amilyn then waits back as Poe suggest, thinking about how she came just that close to being exposed. As she slows her breathing and lets the adrenaline subside, she then finds herself thinking back to when she and Poe met for the first time while undercover.

* * *

_The first time they were interacted, it was on an undercover assignment. Poe was posing as some big-named thief while she acted as a hitwoman for a man known on the streets as 'the Emperor'. (Later on, revealed Sheev Palpatine.) She had already been associated with Palpatine and his organization for years, thanks to her friendship with one of his 'Problem solvers', Iden Versio. That friendship lead to her being introduced to the 'Emperor' and, over time, had garnered a respect and trust that lasted, before he was Positively I.D.ed as Sheev Palpatine, served time in jail, and months after his release before he was finally beaten for good when he was tossed off of a rooftop._

_While attending a welcome home party for the 'Emperor' (For which he had served a 10 year stretch in prison. But, he only ended up serving 5...), Poe was introduced to Palpatine by another one of his associates, Angelo Cornick. Fresh out of Sarlacc, Palpatine was already eager to his records, both physical copies as well as online stuff, to be located and destroyed, along with any and all evidences linking him to other unsolved crimes._

_Poe and Amilyn knew who of each other were prior to their assignment to infiltrate the 'Empire', though had never met. So, since they were playing pretend, they had to put on this act of criminals meeting for the first time. But, they got to know who the other person was away from the Organization._

_The first time they were intimate with one another, it was while they were drinking at 'Jabba's' one Saturday with others from the 'Empire'. The Fellas had noticed just how close the two had gotten and encouraged the both of them to just quit dancing around it and just bone already! Which, in fact, they did that very same night._

_It would be another 7 months before they'd get everything they needed to bring down the Emperor and his associates. Though, during that time, they acted also as a couple of sex-starving lunatics that ended up carrying on from 2010 to the present day._

* * *

With Palpatine gone and everyone in his crew, either dead or in Sarlacc, his 'Empire' was gone for good. Dameron and Holdo's covers were over with. But, not their real life attraction and love for one another.  
Though she knows the consequences if her relationship with her subordinate is made public, she can't help but study his beautiful face. He's the most dashing... the most compassionate, and the amazing man she's ever known, and now it was really hard to stay focused, being so close to him. Wishing she could just go over and get a kiss from him. But, they were professionals. No one needed to know just how deeply their relationship went. Especially, not the higher-ups. But, most definitely not Poe's Unit... Or Amilyn's husband.

Only problem, aside from getting to display their affections openly.

* * *

As Poe grabs his gun and his coat, he automatically looks over at Sol Rivas, who's sitting on a desk and looking at him like he was a dream come true.

Poe then shyly smiles back at him, looking away like he was a shy teenager. As he heads towards the exit, he then looks back at Sol, winking at him as he leaves out, getting Sol's smile to grow into a face stretching grin.

Well, there was actually another problem that Holdo had when it came to her relationship with Poe. She wasn't the only one longed for him.

ASA Sol Rivas was in love with him, too.

Having two people be in love with you at the same time must be the greatest thing that could happen to the guy. Because Poe doesn't seem to have a problem with messing around with two married people and not worry that, at any moment, they could found out about one another and realize that you were knowingly seeing them both simultaneously.

Only time will tell how long this kinda thing lasts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment and share your thoughts!


	4. All Eyes are on Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey is up on stage, and the crowd is loving it! While she's up there, she gets a better view of the men watching her and notices a couple of unfriendly looking guys who seem more interested in doing something unsavvy than watching her dance. And as she performs a private dance, she keeps an eye on two shady guys, who've barely taken their eyes off of the girl dancing for them.
> 
> (Re-edited)_(12/16/2019.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be stripping and suggestive dancing in this chapter!
> 
> This chapter really felt like it was only half finished. As I was working on the next two, I had this really long scene that really felt like it belonged in this chapter. So, I decided to include it in Chapter 4 and it fits so much better than in Chapter 5.

But, Poe wouldn't be the only one turning heads today.

Later on that night, at Coruscant's seediest watering hole, there was gonna be a main event downtown that was sure to liven up all the dreary white collars, the average joes, and the weary janes, who'd all come in looking for a real good time after work. It was gonna be something people were gonna be thinking about long after they've left... long after they've gone home and long after they were cuddling up with their special someone.

Yeah. Tonight was gonna be one of those nights that made folks working the jobs they hate all the more worth it just by going there. 

* * *

**LATER ON THAT NIGHT...**

Back at the 'Heaven's Darlings' club, people had filled up the long bar and were quickly filling up the tables and chairs on the floor. The music playing overhead didn't do much to drown out all of the chattering and idol chitchat that was going on.

People were either drunk or working on it, admiring the view of the go-go dancers and waitresses in the scantily clad getups.**** <strike></strike>

Women were walking around in outfits that left nothing to the imagination. They were 'dressed' in underwear that barely covered up their asses, wore see-through dresses with no bras, clear bras that still lets people still see the nipples, and heart shaped nipple pasties. Strippers, who were either dancing on the tables that had poles in the center of it or they dropping off drinks or picking up empty bottles and glasses.

Leering, unabashed men had no problems trying to shove tips into the ladies' bras or their underwear while trying to cop a feel of their skin. Even when the ladies asked them not to do that, they kept up the act, smiling and laughing like they knew that the ladies liked the attention, even went they didn't. In fact, it seemed to only make them even more brazen. They'd try grabbing the waitresses' boobs, slapping their booty cheeks... Even go so far as to rip their bras and pasties off. 

Many of them do NOT like being treated like pieces of meat and several have complained to their boss, Dryden Vos, about this. His only response would be that this is the life you choose to live with when you come to work for him. He'd discuss it like it was an occupational hazard. And they are NOT happy that he allows this sort of thing to go on. Of course, if some of the customers got too aggressive or even tried to force themselves on the girls, then he'd have his guys go in and pull the bastards out. But, if it didn't go that far, his patrons were still well within their rights to act as they saw fit. Just as long as it didn't go too far. 

Most of the girls threaten to quit, but they never make it pass the backdoor. Many of the young women had little to no education and had to make a living the best way they knew how. While they hated their situations, a lot of them had no choice. They either quit or tough it out. And going to the police was never a option. 

And it wasn't just some of the fellows who acted this way. There were some women who were just as crude as the bastards were. So, it wasn't just one side that was doing that.

Anyway, not too long after the music started, there were a sting of different 'performances' that have been going on over the last three hours. Either it was a bevy of beautiful women all dancing together or it was a big named individual dancer who drew in much of the crowd.

Everyone was enjoying his- or herself and the perk was _rolling_ in.

Of course, there were many who were there for just one young woman who hadn't appeared yet... the 'main event' that was mentioned before. The other girls were just the 'appetizers'...

...their words...

...As they waited for the 'main course'. 

Just then, _'Confident' _by_ Demi Lovato_ comes over the stereo.

And men and women both immediately rose to their feet like as if the bride was marching in. It seemed as though the very roof was rising due to the people clapping and cheering at the top of their lungs. If the air in the room wasn't already thick with lust and excitement, it was now! Because, they know who's coming up now. For most, it was the very reason they were here in the first place. They know that the 'main attraction' is about to make a lot of people very, very happy.

"Alright, alright!" The Disc Jockey says. "Here she comes! The young tenderoni you've all been waiting for! That's right! It's the midnight minx! The Grace and the glory! The Queen of hearts herself! Give it up for... Desert! RU-BYYYYY!!" He shouts out as individual words.

Somehow, the room erupts in an even louder cheer. Stage lights from opposite ends of the stage as well as overhead all shine towards the closed curtain, waiting to illuminate the desert ruby before she can make her first appearance tonight.

_ '...Not gonna fake it  
Not when you go down...' _

The music is so loud, it actually causes the mirrors, the tables... even very floor to shake due to the bass being turned up so high.

Just behind the curtain behind the stage, a well toned leg slips through the covers, the red stiletto clicking loudly when it hits the stage. Suddenly, the slit running down the middle gets bigger when Rey throws back both ends, revealing her in full makeup and red robe walking down the stage, strutting her stuff like a model.

The crowd roar in response of seeing the Queen herself finally gracing them with her presence.**** <strike></strike>

It was amazing just how easily it was for Rey to get into the mood to dance. She wasn't nervous per say. But, she did lack an inspiration... something to help her get into the mindset of performing. At least until the music came on. And then she was where she needed to be.

It's amazing how you can just get to where you need to be mental-wise flawlessly just by listening to the right song.

_'Cause this is my game_   
_And you better come to play...'_

Rey steps forwards, her red robe, revealing some red underwear underneath as it glides up her amazing legs and hips. She places her right hand on her hip as the left one just sways as Rey puts more of an emphasis in her strode.

_'I used to hold my freak back_   
_Now I'm letting go...'_

Walking to where everyone in the room could see her, Rey then throws off her robe, revealing her lovely curves and amazing ass barely covered by a thong! Muscles peaking through her biceps, shoulders, and upper back. Now everyone had a clear view from their seats just as awesome Rey's curves really are without that pesky robe in the way. Feeling the heat from everyone staring at her, Rey couldn't help but smirk as she placed one foot in front of the other.

_'...I make my own choice_   
_Bitch, I run this show_   
_So leave the lights on...'_

Rey reaches the edge of the stage and begins to dance. She puts both hands on her hips and wiggled her hips, causing her ass to bounce. But, in such a way that it looked like she had absolute control of both the muscles and the fat in her lower cheeks as she moved with the very beat of the song. As she began to dance, she slowly lifts her arms higher and higher until they're over her head. She flails them calmly as moves with the music, snapping her fingers to the beat and wobbles her head from side to side.

Howls, wolf whistles, and catcalls can be barely heard thanks to the song. But, Rey can still hear them. She can even still hear what they're shouting at her.

_"Yeah, baby! Shake it!"/"Take it off! Take it off!"/"You got me so fucking hard! GODdammit!"/"Shuffle that ass over to our table, sexy!"/"I love you, Ruby!"/"Dance for me back at my place, Angel!"/"You fine-ass bitch!"/"You're so fucking hot!"/"Marry me, Ruby!"_

As she looks over all the horny losers who came to see her, she sees some many pairs of eyes already blown out with lust and amazement. Many of the guys were reaching into their pocket and were pulling out $20's, $50's, even $100's. Waving them at her like they were baiting her over like a worm on a hook.

Ignoring them for now, she then closes her eyes and leans her head back. She bites her lower lips and waves her arms in a hypnotizing way. Gesturing carefully, like it was intentional as she begins to lose herself in the music.

_'It's time to get the chains out_   
_Is your tongue tied up?_   
_'Cause this is my ground_   
_And I'm dangerous_   
_And you can get out_   
_But it's all about me tonight...'_

Keeping her eyes closed, Rey then backs away from the stage's edge, still moving in an enticing way, hips still jerking almost violently before she gently bumps into the pole at center stage. Her hands are set on top of her head and she let them stream down to her neck, her breasts, her abs, and then on her inner thighs as she gyrate while slowly lowering herself down to the stage floor.

She lifts up with her right arm and grabs the pole from near the top of it and with her left hand, she squeezes her titties. She then slowly slides down, her spine pressed firmly against the cold metal pole. As she sinks lower, so does her left hand. It drifts down from her titties, down her well scalped abs, down to her center before it caresses the length of her left thigh.

To the folks watching from the floor, seeing this was like the greatest thing they've ever seen. From the bar, people were on the edge of their seats as they watched Rey doing her thing. She may just be warming up, but she's already got literally everyone in the palm of her hand.

She then rocks her shoulders backwards and forwards, causing her torso to motion as gently as she sways like she was rocked by a breeze. Everything she did was precise. No big movements that would ruin the routine. She moves her entire body with ease, keeping everything nice and loose. No stiffness in the way she sways herself.

She then lowers herself back down near the stage floor, getting lower and lower, never touching the floor. She then raises her body back up before dropping herself back down. After she drops her ass on the pole again, she then thrusts her hips forward with powerful pelvic thrusts. 

She takes her right hand down from the pole and touches her right breast before it slides down her belly and her fingertips trickle across her right thigh just as she did with her left hand. Resting both hands on her knees, she squats down, shoving her coochie forcefully towards the viewers, like she riding a small, invisible animal. She quietly grunts as she pushes her hips forward harder and harder.

The crowd grunts/moans as they watch her fucks the air. She then begins to wiggle her hips, causing her cheeks to jiggle. She wasn't quite shaking her ass, but she was wiggling it with every pivot her waist in such a way that she looked like she. Same difference.

Rey then uses both hands and runs all 10 of her fingers through her hair, like she was having the time of her life. Moving her bangs out of her face, she then presses the palms of her hands against her knees, still simulating that she was still riding like the wind. Lifting and dropping her ass, never faltering. Not ONCE. The next time she drops it like it's hot, her butt really does hit the floor.

Once her butt hits the stage, Rey then gets on all fours, flipping her hair out of her face as looks over her right shoulder and turns her body in that same direction, giving everyone a great view of her rear-end. She then dips her head down low before she lifts it back up, the momentum of her actions run from her shoulders to her torso and finally down to her waist, making it look like she was propping her behind over into the air over and over. She then rolls over onto her back and lifts her legs high into the air. She then allows them to make a 'V' shape as they spread apart, causing guys to lean in closer to the stage, absolutely loving every bit of what was going on.

She then places her heels firmly on the floor. She then picks herself back up thanks to the strength and steadiness of her legs. She returns to the edge of the stage and turns her back on the crowd again. She bends over, slapping both cheeks of her behind before she starts shaking it. That right there made people start throwing their money up on the stage, yelling for Rey to take off her panties. One gentleman goes to stuff his $50 dollar bill into her waistband. But, as if sensing him, Rey swats his hand away, turns to look down on him, and with a smirk, she sticks up the index finger of her right hand and shakes it, meaning for him not to try that again.

The man blushes at her smirk and seeing Rey watching off, he realizes just how cold her hand was. Why was her skin so cold? It's fucking hot in this room! 

Rey stops in her tracks, rotating her hips in a fluid motion as she continues to tease the crowd. She then gets down on her knees and like before, she appeared like she was humping the floor. The circulator rocking of her hips, she's shaking her ass as she appears to be straddling the stage floor, while never breaking rhythm once. As the dollars were hitting the stage, Rey just slid her hands over the cash putting it all up and plays with it by dragging them over private parts of her body before tucking it into her bra and panties waistband, still dancing. She then crawls over to the pole, pulling her up by hand over hand. She then walks right around it, her left hand clutching it near the top of it. She then grips it again with her right hand and carousels around it, swinging around the pole in midair. Hooking the back of her right knee around it, Rey then carousels around it again, this time swinging in reverse. Still using the momentum of the swing, Rey leans back, whipping her hair back and laughing like she was having the time of her life. She then unhooks her ankle and instead swings her legs and hips around the pole, almost like a snake, before the rest of her follows. Her heels then hit the floor again and Rey slows herself down and steps to the right side of the stage, throwing her left hip out. With her right hand still gripping the pole, Rey throws her hips deeply from side to side, her free hand caressing her abs, breasts, and crotch. She then grabs ahold of the lower part of the pole with her left hand before she tosses her legs up to wrap about the top of her while she's hanging upside down. She then swings herself around again, only this time she's got her legs up in the air. 

****<strike></strike>She had the entire room breathing hard and drooling like fools. There wasn't a single eye that didn't hold her lovely figure. Even so of the other dancers and waitresses froze in place as they watched the Queen of hearts just take control of the room.

If the patrons weren't already drunk, they soon would be as they were drinking in the vision that is Rey herself. Just her beautiful face was enough to make even the toughest bastard blush. So, just imagine how seeing her like this now would do to 'em. She was so easy on the eyes and definitely could drive (...and has driven) men and women crazy enough to do the most idiotic things...

...just to be able to bask in her presence and die happy if or when she blesses them with that dazzling smile. Yes. _She _has made many a fool do the most just so they can say that they made the most beautiful woman they'll ever see happy about something. The one woman who makes and has made patsies out of people. 

Rey then stops herself with her hands outstretched and pressed up against the stage floor. She then walks on her hands as she keeps her legs wrapped on the pole, slowly bringing them down until she hits the stage with her knees, but not hard enough to hit her. Crawling back towards the edge of the stage, Rey spots three faces:

  1. A bearded man who was the only one who didn't have lust in his eyes. But, rather it looks like his mind was more on hoping to murder someone rather than hoping for a chance for a dance or... something more.
  2. An overweigh man wearing glasses, who was currently in the middle of a lap dance being performed by none other than Rey's friend, Lydia. Although, he seemed to enjoy the company, he seemed more interested in Rey than he was at Lydia. He'd occasionally look between the two women, like he couldn't make up his mind on who he wanted to see more of. Eventually, his eyes would drift away and back on Lydia, who had just sat in his lap, playfully pinching his cheeks and stroking his chin.
  3. Finally, she sees the Honorable Orson Krennic, who seems so happy that she's finally noticed him looking at her. Rey's eyebrows then shoot up and she smiles at him as she approached him.

Krennic, as if a nervous wreck, reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls out two hundred bills. He then gets up from his seat and walks towards Rey, pushing pass the other horny bitches & bastards who stood in his way. And, instead of throwing money at Rey or trying to tuck it somewhere, he hands them up to Rey, his hand shaking. Rey notices the two $100 bills with her a toothy smirk and sits up on her knees and right hand as she reaches out to gently take them from Krennic.

Rey then winks at him and mouths 'I've got something very special planned just for you.' She pointed before she tucks the cash in her panties right over her clit. She then kisses the palm of her hand and blows him a kiss.

That gesture causes Krennic to take a seat in a chair that he wasn't in before.

Rey then crawls going backwards. Smooth as a snake, Rey dips her hips up and the momentum has her sitting up on her knees. She rests her hands on her thighs, bringing them up over her soft and smooth skin before they land on the front of her bra and she undoes it.

The sight of her petite bust seems to cause the applause to yell and scream the loudest they have all night. Clearly, these folks just can't get enough of Rey. So, it seems that Vos wasn't exaggerating that Rey was his best earner. 

Everyone there was more heated and turned out, including Krennic and the overweight guy (But excluding dude with murder in his eyes). The guy, Indle, just eyeballed Rey like she was some sweet treat while Krennic looked at her like she holiness made flesh.

To get the crowd one last 'Ugh!' Rey shakes her titties at them with the biggest smile on her face. Rey wouldn't admit this outloud. But, being in this room of leery, horny drunkards was something she has never enjoyed. To her, they were just disgusting perverts who only thought with the head that swung below the belt. But, she'd be lying to herself if she said she didn't enjoy the attention that came with this job (...If only just a little...)

Just then, the song comes to an end and she gets up again, waves at the crowd, blows more kisses, before she walks back through the curtain. She collects her bra and the robe she came out in.

"And there she goes!" The Disc Jockey says over his mike. "Yes, sir! Yes, sir! Desert Ruby brings the heat and the sexiness up everytime she's in the room! Let's give her another round of applause!"

Everyone then claps happily: cheering, shouting, whistling, and whooping.

Krennic claps before he pulls out a handkerchief and pats the sweat off of his forehead and cheeks.

Someone, who seems to recognize him, just fans him with his $20 bills and he himself laughs in response to that.

* * *

**EARLIER THAT DAY...**

Now that everyone was on the same page at last, now comes the part that the Coruscant joint task force takes the necessary steps to set up their sting operation. This includes:

  1. 'Establishing' Dario Jane's arms trafficking business by staging an abandoned warehouse with his ill-gotten, illegal guns.
  2. Having some of the Violent Crimes Unit, undercover cops and feds acting as associates & muscles while the others were on standby and keeping an eye out as surveillance.
  3. Getting the confidential informants to get word out that old Dario Jane was out of jail and back in the gun-running game.
  4. Having him come by the warehouse to see for himself what all the fuss was about and (Ideally) reach out to Dopheld Mitaka to act as an assassin, gunning for Jane.
  5. He would be apprehended (after whatever's used as his protection has been taken care of...), made to be cooperative and tell the task force where little Bree Bainer was being held.
  6. Dario Jane then would be a protected Federal witness. Both he and Dopheld (And even Johnny Valo... maybe...) would be used as rats to uncover the human trafficking operations of the First Order, getting their names and faces boarded up in papers, magazines, and internet blogs and news sites.
  7. The First Order would to taken apart inside and out and everyone involved in this whole thing would go down in history as the most talked about knights of justices since Eliot Ness. (Okay. This one was more for Vanity. But still... it would be the kind of thing that would cause people to talk about them, maybe even put them in movies... Yeah. _Sure._ Right.)

The joint task force consisted of: the Violent Crimes Unit, their confidential informants, the F.B.I. Profiler Paige Tico and other members of her Unit, Sergeant Angelo Cornick and his Team of S.W.A.T. Officers, Undercover cops, and a has-been gun runner who was just out to use this whole thing to live as a free man, living out his remaining days on a tropical island somewhere, doing shit he had no business doing.

Anyway, now that the ball was rolling, there were still some things that needed to be taken care of:

  * **Cpt. Jango Fett **arrives on the scene, acting as the man in charge, overseeing this entire thing. He gave out all the orders to the officers both in and out of his unit. And seeing as how any and all F.B.I. agents took their orders directly from the Director himself, Jango had no say in anything they did. Which is frustrating, seeing as how the feds have always played by their own rules and always have, working with the local officers only as long as it served their purpose or simply using them to get done what the lazy bastards couldn't or wouldn't get done themselves. Was there any wonder as to why local police can't stand the F.B.I.?
  * **Zay Versio** stayed behind at the precinct, acting as a connecting bridge of sorts. When new information or details are sent to the VCU Office, she was responsible for passing the word around to either her teammates, the F.B.I. Director, The Deputy Chief, F.B.I. Agents, etc. She was even required to physically drift from place to place if need be. And seeing as how things were always changing and people need to be up-to-date, she had to move when it was time to move. And she was very good about keeping with the crazy flow of things. Basically, she was the very thing coming things on a steady loop, never faltering... never failing to keeping people in the know. If she decides to pursue a career in law enforcement, she'll make a damn fine detective one day!
  * **Ezra 'Slip' Vale**,** Kaydel 'KO' Connix**, and **Rose Tico **met up with the Tech and Surveillance man **Surge Verma**, who had his guys setting up cameras at any reasonable spots in their warehouse.
  * **Vi Moradi**,** Jessika Pava**, and **Temmin 'Snap' Wexley **went to make sure they had every gun from Deputy Chief Holdo's lock-up noted and accounted for. Holdo was already a hard-ass. But, she could be reasonable. So, it was in their best interest to make sure that they kept a close eye on all of the things that they were walking into this thing with.
  * **ASA Sol Rivas **was getting warrants and things together just so that the VCU was covered on the legal side of matters and just in case that they needed to search houses, businesses, and vehicles.
  * **Statura** worked with **Agent Paige Tico**, working with her and discussing strategies on getting those hard-headed knucklehead to cooperate with the Feds and the Police.
  * **Officers** **Karl**,** Howser**,** Wedjet**, and **Käufer **were all on the perimeter and acted as lookout.
  * **Sergeant** **Angelo Cornick** and his team of S.W.A.T. Officers would bring the heat as they were finding their perch for the no doubt long awaited assassination attempt. 
  * **Detectives Finn Storm** and **Poe Dameron** kept watch on their future star witness **Dario Jane** as babysitters until Jane's protection detail were finished setting up and got back so that they can hook back up with the others before things started going down.

* * *

With D.J.'s protection detail rolling up outside the perimeter, both Finn and Poe believed earlier, knowing that their little foster care job was finally over. Though, they did not envy the poor bastards who had the pain-in-the-ass burden of watching this little whiny, wiseass while getting an earful of him complaining about how cold the van is or how miserable he feels.

Although, to be fair, he hasn't utter a single word since they left the precinct almost two hours ago.

Just as the cops assigned to D.J. were taking him in, Zay Versio and Capt. Fett pulled up next to Finn and Poe's van in one vehicle, getting out and watching D.J. being taken away. They then step up to their compadre.

"There he goes." Finn says.

"Finally!" Poe says, letting out a breath he didn't realize he was holding back. "Another minute in that van with that guy, and I might get a surprise visit from Internal Affairs."

"Whew!" Finn says, catching Poe's meaning. "In that case, just be glad it's over."

"I am." Poe says. "Wasn't it obvious?"

"Hey." 

Both detective turn to see Fett and Versio coming towards them.

"Hey, Cap."/"What's going on, Captain?" Both Finn and Poe say at the same time.

"Hey, guys." Zay says.

"What's good, Zay?" Finn says.

"Zay..." Poe says with a sour tone of voice.

While Finn still appeared friendly toward Zay, Poe's whole demeanor just shifted back to the way it was when he was in the interrogation room with D.J. He really didn't like Zay all that much. She just seemed way too nosy and way too interested in other people's private lives. If she were a cop and the people she pestered were suspects, that would be fine. But, she's not and the people she bothers aren't. She has no filter and just enjoys bugging people, Poe especially, whenever there's some dirt or a gossip starter.

But, she wasn't all bad.

And it would be a lie to say that Poe hated her. That would be taking his reaction a bit too far. He just didn't care for her curious ways when it came to things that were none of her business.

Sensing that Poe's already annoyed by his tone of voice, Zay just acknowledges Finn with a smile and gives Poe a silent nod.

Capt. Fett, who was ignoring the whole exchange in favor of watching D.J. being taken into the perimeter, simply mentions, "So, I guess this means you two are done babysitting our jailbird." 

"Yep!" Poe says. "And nw, we can get back to our real job."**** <strike></strike>

"He didn't give you too much trouble, did he?" Capt. Fett asks.

"Actually, no." Finn says. "Irony enough, he's been as quiet as a mouse."

Oh, good." Capt. Fett says with a nod. "Just so long as he talks when it matters, he can go on being just a quiet mouse for as long as he likes."

Both Finn and Poe nod in agreement as they themselves look to watch the new van carry D.J. away towards the warehouse everyone was dressing up.

Just then, a thought entered Zay's mind. "Hey, uh... guys? Can I ask you guys a stupid question?"

"Never known you to do otherwise." Poe says without missing a beat.

Finn, caught off-guarded by the rapid fire comment, does his best to conceal his grin and hold back his laughter.

Fett just looks at Poe with an expression that reads **'Really, Dameron? Was that even necessary?'**

Poe just shrugs with tighting his lips tightly together.

Zay just looks absolutely irritated by his comment that she was left speechless.

A first for her and a definite win for Poe.

Sighing, Poe then asks, "What is it?" Again, with exasperation in his voice.

"Well..." Zay says, deciding not to deal with that just yet and just focus on how she would word her question. "Is there uhm..." She takes another second to fully line out in her head how she would go about asking this. "Is there any way that Jane can actually start over after all this?"

"Huh?" Finn asks, turning and looking at Zay.

"What do you mean?" Poe questions.

"What I mean is, is there he can get a pass and get to live as a citizen rather than a criminal?" Zay asks. "I guess... I know that everything he did won't be forgotten. If even forgiven. But, even if everyone remembers everything he did, does he still get a fair shake at a new life?"

Finn and Poe both have confused expressions on their faces. They wanna answer her question, but they don't wanna just give her an answer without fully understand what's even being asked here. Does D.J. get a fair shake? What does that even mean?

Noticing the confusion on their faces, Zay then says, "Did that not make any sense? Aww, man! It made sense in my head. Maybe I worded it wrong."

"Maybe we're just not understanding the question, Versio." Poe says. "What do you mean by a 'fair shake'?"

Before she can answer that, Capt. Fett asks her a question of his own.

"You're thinking about your mom, aren't you?" Fett asks.

That got the attention of all three people standing there.

In a tone, barely above a whisper, Zay utters, "Yeah."

"Hmm." Fett grunts in understanding. "Yeah, I looked into her background and saw just about everything the State Attorney wanted to put her away for. Murder, kidnapping, torture, hate crimes, and intimidation. But, the whole story isn't pressed only on her rap sheet."

"Yeah." Zay says. "I mean, she's really come a long way since she's gotten out of jail. But, the woman I know and the woman that I read about in report sounds like two different people. Knowing her for a long as I have and hearing what people have said about her and to her face has really been messing with my head. From what dad's told me, she used to be a cold blooded killer working for Palpatine. Sadistic and merciless. From the way he talks about her, you'd swear that she was born without a conscience. Like she had ice water in her veins. But, that's not who she is now. I mean, she's really come a long way! That's for sure. She's really turned her life around since she's been with my dad. But, she's had such a hard time getting there. When I asked her about it, she hasn't been cryptic with her answers. I wish she left some things to herself. But, she said she wanted to be honest with me. She's really come to regret her actions. She's told me that every single night, she still sees the faces and hears the voices of the people she's..." She can't even finish her statement. "She lost 10 years of her life and squandered mine in an 8x10 cell. The only reason she wasn't given life was because she had to make deals with the feds."

"Just like Jane." Poe says, realizing finally where she was going with this.

"Right." Zay says. "Just like Jane." 

"I hadn't really known your mom..." Finn starts to say. "I know of her. But, I've never really known her as a person. But, from what I've heard, you're mom has really done some good work for C.P.D. and the feds. She's gotten over 60 people locked up and with life sentences. That includes Sheev Palpatine himself. His most trusted Lieutenant. That alone guaranteed her a stay of execution."

"I haven't read that in any reports." Zay says.

"Well, that's because it wasn't written down in any reports." Finn says. "It was something I heard about."

"And by heard, you mean...?" Zay asks, trying to get Finn to elaborate more.

Finn isn't sure if he should even respond. Not wanting to put his friend on blast like this.

"What he means is, I told him." Poe says. 

"What?" Zay asks, looking at Poe with a frown. "You knew my mom, too?"

Poe nods. " I did."

"How?" Zay asks.

"That's something we really can't get into right now." Fett says. "We don't have anymore time to talk about this. So, I'll just say this. To answer your question if Dario Jane gets a fresh start or not... Depending on how everything goes when it's time for him to testify, the only way that Jane gets to have a fair shake is entirely up to Jane himself." Fett comments. "Doing everything you can to get a second chance is just one thing. But, doing everything you can not to ruin that second chance once you've got it, that's something else. Your mother took advantage of it. Jane would have too as well, regardless if people treat him fairly or not." 

Zay looked like she still had questions. But, decides to drop it for now. But, she'll definitely be bugging Poe for an explanation later.

"Alright then." Fett says. "Come on. Let's go. We should get back to work."

Out of nowhere, Finn's phone starts ringing. "Aww, shit!" Finn says in a harsh whisper. Automatically, he pulls it out of his pocket and sees the name of the person calling him.

"What the...?"

"What is it?" Fett asks.

Finn looks up at him with a concerned expression. "It's Jannah." He appears to be pretty worried about this sudden phone call. "It's Jannah calling me."

* * *

At the chosen location, cops and feds, dressed in plain clothes, have been setting up in a corner of their warehouse to look like an Arms trafficker owns it... by concealing the merchandize in boxes, cabinets and crates, so they would blend in seamlessly with all of the other boxes and crates you'd expect to find in a packed warehouse.

As they worked, D.J. just sits in a chair, surrounding by long, absent tables with empty containers sitting on top of a few of them. He's got his head hanging low, staring at the polished floor. He looks pathetic. He's probably gotten his little feelings hurt when Poe yelled at him. Or that look is reflecting what's probably going through his head right now, which could be that he doesn't wanna do this... AT ALL!!

Well, using him was the quickest and, quite frankly, the best way to draw out the Unit's intended target. So, Boo-fucking-Hoo!

Besides, of everything goes as planned and he plays the part the police wrote for him, he'll be a free man, living in a country without extradition and with a guarantee that he's new cover will be a deeply guarded secret for the Federal Bureau.

Well, he will be a free man with a new name and safe haven...

...Only after the feds wins the trail against the First Order.

Right now, he's protected by the F.B.I. as their star witness. So, once the fear of him possibly losing his life to Johnny Valo has passed, he'll really have the keys to everything the American Dream was suppose to be.

So, come to think of it, he's really got nothing to be worried about. Many cons in his shoes would kill for a chance for a new life like this. So, what's with the 'puppy-dog-eyes' routine?

From his standing position over by the table with a map, documents, and plans, Temmin has taken notice of a very important thing. "Hey..." He says, getting Jessika and Vi's attention. He then tilts his head over towards D.J. with his lips pressed tightly together. "...Have either of you notice that the big, gun-runner has just been sitting there quiet for a really long time?"

Both Jessika and Vi looks over to see the convict looking all sad.

"Yeah." Vi says, realizing his very out-of-character moment. "He has been pretty tight-lipped for a while. I don't think he's said more than two words since Finn and Poe got him here."

"What's with him?" Jessika asks her teammates.

"Don't know." Temmin says. "Guessing he's fully realized that he ain't talking or buying his way out of this one. So, he's just being sulky right now."

"Well, I don't know what the hell he's got to be moody about." Vi says. "He's been gotten the deal of a lifetime. Immediate freedom in exchange for bringing down the virtually untouchable First Order. What the fuck he's got to be sad about? I mean, of course, I realize that the price for this new, great life comes out of him being a snatch and ratting out the First Order of all people..."

"Not to mention, he's gonna have that hanging over his head for the rest of his life." Jessika says. "It won't just be the First Order he's got to worry about. Dario Jane's name is gonna be synonymous with conniving snitch now and long after he's dead. He's gonna be known as the biggest stoolie in American History since Henry Hill."

"Bigger, in fact." Temmin throws out there. "He's gonna be a marked man for the rest of his life. If I were him, I'd have that exact same look on my _face_, too."

Vi goes to argue. But, stops her. Closing her eyes while nodding in agreement... although, she's admittedly vexed by Temmin talking over her. Even though she's slightly frustrated right now, she takes a moment to recollect herself so that she doesn't talk at Snap and say things she wouldn't normally say with a cool head. Once she's gotten herself together, she goes on to say, "Yeah, okay. That's a fair point. I'll give you both that. But, my original point was that no matter what comes out of his meeting and the takedown of the F.O. in the end, he's got it made. He gets to live a brand new life... a life laid out by the feds... the kind of life he could've had had he not turned out the way he has. But, even with his rap sheet, he gets to walk away. Scot-free and with a clean slate."

"While his slate may be clean right now, it's up to him to keep it that way, Vi." Temmin says. "Look, if it makes you feel any better, Moradi, just think of all the way he could fuck this deal up. And how all it takes is just one... just one slip up and his ass is taken out of the cushy lifestyle and put back behind bars. I don't know about the two of you, but knowing that..." He nods his head with a smirk on his face. "...I know I'll be sleeping peacefully in my bed from now until we see his ugly mug on the late night news."

"That is true." Jess says.

"Good point." Vi says. "I didn't even think of it like that."

"Well, there you go." Temmin says. "I just 

"So, you did." Vi says. "Y'know, you're getting pretty good at this reassuring thing there, Wexley."

Temmin chuckles at that. He then pulls out his phone and calls Kaydel.

* * *

Over where Kaydel was with Slip, Rose, and Surge at the surveillance station, she answers the phone after seeing that it was Temmin calling her.

"What's up, Temmin?" Kaydel asks.

_"Hey!" _Temmin says over the line. _"What's the holdup? We're blind in here. Why aren't the feeds up yet?"_

Almost immediately after asking that, one of the tech guy finishing mounting up a camera and after hooking everything up, turns it on.

Temmin then replies, _"Oh! Never mind. We're in business."_

"Yeah." Kaydel says in confirmation. "Us, too."

"Well, we've been here for almost an hour, and it looks like..." Surge says, noticing that an unfamiliar vehicle was pulling up just outside the warehouse. It was a white van with no plates. And two guys inside. They don't appear to be armed, but you never know. "...We may have attraction some attention a bit too soon here."

_"We see 'em, too." _Temmin comments. 

"What the hell?" Slip questions. "How the hell did they slip into our perimeter without someone noticing? It's not like those guys to just let people just wander into police controlled perimeters."

"I don't know." Surge says. He leans in closer to the monitors, checking every camera pointing outside of the warehouse, just on the line of their perimeter. "As far as we can tell, there hasn't been any shooting. No signs that anyone's been injured or killed. From the looks of things, everything's 5 by 5."

"Great news." Slip says. "Still doesn't answer how that van got this close to us without us knowing about it."

"I wouldn't be surprised if they were feds." Rose says. "Feds think they've got the run of the place, no matter where they go."

"Or reports paying off cops to let them come and go." Kaydel says.

_"__Okay." _Temmin says._ "You three sit tight. We'll find out what these guys are all about."_

* * *

**LATER THAT NIGHT AT 'HEAVEN'S DARLINGS'...**

Sitting alone in a private room by himself, Honorable Judge (...Maybe not so honorable right now...) Orson Krennic is looking through his phone, noticing that he hasn't missed any calls or texts from his wife or anybody.

The private rooms here had doors whereas most strip joints have either a doorway curtain: whether it was an actual curtain or door beads. Which kinda defeated the purpose of a private room where anyone who was passing by could look through the door beads and had a view of what was going on. But, you see, Dryden Vos ran a very specific kinda club here. It wasn't just a spot where people came in and looked at naked girls. No, this was 'Heaven's Darlings', a place where if you've got deep pockets, the girls there would treat you and love you for as long as you could handle it. In some other places, if you paid certain girls enough, they may give blowjobs, hand jobs, or even get fucked. 

But, here, that was the house rule. If you come in with the cash upfront, you were taken in one of these rooms to have the time of your life. And it was thanks to this kind of seclusion that made it easy for white collar folks to have their minds blown here on a regular basis without worrying if word would get out about their after hours playtime. People who came here knew the deal. You don't take about your dealings in here. Everything was hush-hush. Hence, why they had doors. And, if you were to bump into someone you know on the outside, you kept to your own business.

Hell, even people who didn't go there, at all, knew what the deal was. You don't talk about what you did when you come here.

The sound of door closing and a curtain being pulled aside makes Orson put his phone away. He looks up and all of a sudden, he sees that he's not alone anymore.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, your honor." A beautiful voice with a british accent says.

"Oh, it's no worries." Krennic looks up to see at his visitor and his eyes just go wide with wonder.

Rey was standing before him in a completely different outfit. Her first one was red. Now, this one is white. With black eye-liner, white eyeshadow, cheeks sprinkling with glitter, and what looked like some kind of makeup with angel wings were branching from the outer corners of her eyes to her temples. And a very, very, _very_ light shade of pink lipstick. 

She was a vision. Well, Rey's always a vision. But, right now, she's just made a tired man's eyes glow in wonder as her beauty soothed his corneas.

"My God!" Krennic says. "You're look lovely, Darling."

Rey then places her hands over her heart and pretends like his comment just made her swoon. "Aww! Thank you!" She then walks into the room, letting the curtain fall, obscuring the view of any passersby. "Did you see my staff anywhere when you came in?"

"Uhh... Yes!" Krennic exclaims, pointing over his right shoulder. "It's... right over there."

She then looks over in the corner and sees a white staff you'd imagine little Bo Peep would have. "Ah-hah!" She exclaims. "Will you exchange me for just a moment while I get things set up?"

"Please..." Krennic says, nervousness present in his voice.

Rey smiles at him as she walks over to him, playfully pinching his right cheek as she passes.

"Please...take your time." Krennic says as he stares at her ass. The smell of her perfume hitting his nostrils like a car meeting a brick wall going 280mph. He then huffs excitedly before he remembers he's holding his phone and puts it away. He then sniffs before smiling. He once again looks over his right shoulder. "It's so good seeing you again, Ruby. Thanks so much for agreeing to dance for me again."

"It's no problem, Orson." Rey says with her back still to him. "I'm always happy to see you. You're my favorite client. Y'know, you've been one of the only decent men who comes here. You know to keep your hands to yourself. I'm happy to keep dancing for you." She then turns to look at him as she walks back to the front of the room, staff in hand. "So, what brings you by tonight?"

"The same thing always has." Orson says with a sad expression.

"Oh." Rey says with a sympathetic tone. She knows exactly why he's here again tonight. "After everything you do for her, she still hasn't come back around?"

"No." Krennic says. "I mean, after 26 years of marriage, we should be celebrating this time of our lives. The kids are out of the house and are doing really well. The next step should us talking about retirement and just going out, traveling together. Like we always talked about. But, all of that just... stopped. All of a sudden, she wasn't interested in retiring or in travelling. She's been so distant here lately. It's like leaving with a total stranger."

"Wow." Rey says. "Y'know, I'd see the 2 of you on T.V. sometimes. And from the way it looks, you two look like just the perfect power couple. One's a judge. The other's a Deputy Chief. I guess appearances aren't everything."

"Please, don't get me wrong. I still love my wife very much." Orson says. "I'm happy to do whatever she wants to do or go wherever she wants to go. If it means just getting her to interact with me, then that's what I wanna do. Getting her to be happy... just to smile is what makes it all worth it. But, now after so many years together with her, I can't even remember the last time we made love. Or the last time she even smiled at me."

"Oh, my goodness!" Rey says, her expression sadden. "Well, I'll do my very best to make you feel better tonight, okay?"

Krennic looks up at her and smiles, nodding his head. "Okay."

Rey then places the staff back up against the corner of another wall as she once again turns her back to Krennic, fiddling with her outfit.

Still smiling, Orson turns his attention to the floor. The thought of his wife troubling him. Just the ever expanding gap between them just seems to get wider and wider. He's tried so hard so many times to reach back out to her with no promising results. No interest. No attempt at reaching back. He was at his wit's end with her. Not knowing how to go about how to repair his relationship. But, nothing troubled him as much as being her with another, younger woman did. He suddenly fit so guilty about not getting attention from his wife. Instead, looking for it in someone else.

But, he had to remind himself that he wasn't looking for anything in particular. It wasn't like he and Ruby (Rey) were having an affair or anything like that. He's just tired of being on his own. He didn't wanna go home to an empty house again tonight. He wanted some company. That's all. He just wanna someone to acknowledge him. Was that so wrong? Just a smile and a lap dance. THAT. WAS. IT.

After all, not every guy who comes to a strip club is looking to score. Sometimes, even the strongest of men can get lonely, too.

A thought then occurred to him. "Hey, uh... Didn't you say you had a boyfriend? You don't talk about him much anymore. Are you two still together? Forgive me for prying. Just making conversation."

"No..." Rey says. "We're still together. It's just that our work schedules don't always line up the way we want them to. He's working all day and I have to work nights."

"I definitely understand that." Orson is quick to say. "The one thing you want more than anything is to just spend some time with someone you care about and life just gets in the way."

"Exactly!" Rey says. "I know what it's like to be lonely sometimes. But, we always make it a point to just take a few minutes out of our day and just talk. Whatever it is we're in the middle of, we just take a few minutes and just talk about whatever comes up. Especially, when we can't get together. And sometimes, we'd surprise each other with lunch or dinner. It's amazing how all of the little things that mean so much."

"That's right." Orson says. "And that's good. That's really what it takes for a relationship to survive. Both people in that relationship doing all the little things to keep it going. By the way, what does he think of all this? You dancing for other men?"

Rey then looks at him, absolutely surprised at his boldness. "Don't mind getting personal, do you?"

Orson then holds up his hands in surrender. "Again. I am so sorry. I really am just making conversation."

Rey chuckles at that. "Well, he knows I've got bills to pay and hey! A girl's gotta eat. But, I don't like the idea of someone else taking care of me. So, he deals with it."

"Yeah, but this...?"

"I've always enjoyed dancing and I know how to take care of myself." Rey says. "Most of the time, when I'm not working or in bed sleep, I spend a lot of time in the gym. Apparently, too much, seeing as how I've got this guns..." She flexed right arm before she flexes her left. And then, she flexes both. "...These curves..." Rey rocks from side to side, showing them off. "...And this great bum." Rey teases Orson with a wiggle of her hips. "So, hey. Doing what I think is fun and getting paid for it is the dream, right?"

Orson shrugs. "I suppose."

"Speaking of which..." Rey says, suggesting that Orson pay her.

"I've got you." Orson says.

"Good." Rey says. "But, anyway... he's got nothing to worry about." Rey mentions. "I may show the guys here my goods, I only give them only to my peanut. Okay?"

"Well, just so long as he doesn't get the wrong idea about my visits here, there shouldn't be any trouble." Orson says.

"And just as long as you know to keep your hands to yourself, we'll got along tonight like we always do." Rey says.

"Reading you loud and clear, Ruby." Orson says, getting the message.

"Shall we get started?" Rey asks, turning to face him with a smile.

Orson nods. "Yes, please."

Rey goes back behind Orson and messes with a miniature jukebox that sat in the wall. She turns it on and starts looking over all the songs, looking for just the thing to set the mood for her to dance. 

As Rey messed with the jukebox, she looked above it to a nearby panel on the wall. Rey was standing directly in front of a large TV-like screen and presses a button that flips through different other private rooms like TV channels. Although private was key here, that didn't stop Vos from installing hidden cameras in each room. Every room that had pictures on the walls had a camera behind those frames. What was needs to be said? Some folks like to watch other folks. But, Rey was looking for someone very specific. She keeps flipping through the camera feeds until she lands on a room with Lydia getting warmed up to dance for the guy with the dead eyes.

Rey noticed this guy before and had a bad feeling about him. But, she was working right now. With Orson back to the screen, she could still perform while keeping an eye on Lydia. She then lands on a song and hits play.

_'She's a mystery to me' _ by _Roy Orbison _comes over the overhead speakers. Rey is standing with her back facing Orson's, so he can't see her as she swings her hips from side to side in a seductive way.

_ 'Darkness falls and she will take me by the hand  
Take me to some twilight land...' _

She then closes her eyes, letting the music enraptures her like _'confident'_ did up on stage.

_ 'Where all but love is grey  
Where I can't find my way  
Without her as my guide' _

She smoothed her hands over her ass as they glide up to her hips. Gripping them, Rey rotates her hips as she turns around slowly. Once she was facing the back of Orson's head, she walks over to him, knowing already that he was anxious for whatever show she had play for him.

_ 'Night falls I'm cast beneath her spell...' _

Standing above him, she reaches out, touching his back and slides her hand up his nape, slowly running her fingers through his hair.

_ 'Daylight comes our heaven turns to hell  
Am I left to burn and burn eternally...' _

The feel of her cold fingers sends a tingle down his spine and his head stands up on ends. Goose bumps cover his skin and he can't help but blush. Looking up as Rey walks pass him, he grins like a fool when she winks at him as she keeps walking until she's standing directly in front of him.

_ '...She's a mystery to me' _

Rey continues to sway her hips, lifting her hands up to the ceiling and waving them around. She then leans back, rolling her shoulders, her eyes once again closed and she bites her lower lip. She then plays with her hair, making it flow and sliding her fingers through her bangs. She then straightens out and flips her hair as she looks at Orson over her right shoulder. She then goes to face him once more, walking up to him like a model on the runway. She steps up to him, sliding her fingers up his thighs, then up his chest before setting them on his shoulders. She smirks at him before she sets her toes on the edge of his chair between his thighs, resting her foot on the small foothold. She then has her hands breeze past his shoulders and her forehead sit comfortable on his broad shoulders. She then gets in close like she was about to kiss his nose but then she quickly slides her left hand over his eyes, getting him to giggle like a kid at this.

Looking over at the screen, Rey sees Lydia on 'dead eyes' lap, straddling his hips as she herself plays with his hair. She then hops off of him and turns her back to him, taking a sit into his lap. She gives him a sideways smile, running the fingers of her right hand through his hair again. She then scoots back, sitting on top of his crotch while resting her back against his chest.

Rey then gets out of Orson's face, and steps to his left side, letting the back of her fingers glide over his chest and gently rubs his right shoulder. She then rests her left hand on his other shoulder and gives him a shoulder rub. 

Feeling Rey massaging his shoulders, Orson lets out a loud huff, as if all the stresses of his day are lifting off of him. He closes his eyes and rolls his neck in relieve.

Keeping an eye on Lydia's room, Rey squints her eyes as she sees Lydia grinding her booty against 'dead eyes' crotch. Seeing him reeling his head back, his eyes closed and gritting his teeth, Rey can tell that this guy was having the time of his life. Lydia then stands abruptly, shaking her ass as she slowly bends over in front of the guy.

Rey can't see the guy's face now, but he appears to be staring at her exposed cheeks in her thong. She frowns, more in concern than disgust and she flinches slightly when 'Dead Eyes' slaps Lydia's ass hard enough to hear it over the screen.

Lydia, clearly upset, turns to face 'Dead Eyes', yelling at him. Reading her lips leads Rey to understand that this wasn't the first time he's done that tonight. And judging by Lydia's mannerisms as she continues her harangue, the guy wasn't taking her seriously. In fact, his shoulders and torso were rocking with laughter as he leaned back against his chair.

Clearly tired of dealing with this guy, Lydia storms out past the door beads, flings open the door and slams it.

Dead Eyes was still laughing for a while longer, but he slowly composed himself before coughing into his clutched hand. He then stood up straight, pulling out a cellphone and calling someone.

"Oh, honey!" Orson says, "This is the best massage I've ever had!"

But, Rey didn't hear him. She was too busy studying the man over the screen as he appeared to be having a conversation with someone.

"Ruby!"

Hearing her stage name being yelled out finally gets Rey's attention back on Orson. "I'm sorry. What?"

Orson frowns in concern. "I was just saying that I was really enjoying your massage."

Rey's eyes soften when she hears this. "Oh. Umm, yeah. No problem. I'm glad you're enjoying yourself."

"Are you okay, darling?" Orson asks. "You seem a bit distant."

"Yeah, sorry." Rey says. "Guess my mind is somewhere else right now." Rey then turns her head just in time to see that 'Dead Eyes' has hung up the phone as he was now putting his jacket back on and pulling out a...

GUN!!

Rey's breathing spikes, and she accidentally squeezes Orson's shoulders hard enough to bruise them.

"OW! JESUS!!" Orson shouts. "RUBY! RUBY, STOP! YOU'RE GONNA TEAR ME APART!!"

Rey gasps again, letting go of Orson. "Oh, my God! I'm... I'm so sorry, your Honor."

"What the fuck are you doing?!" Orson says. "I came here for a nice time tonight and I damn near get sent to my chiropractor! This is bullshit!"

Rey then exhales before she goes to turn off the jukebox, turns off the screen, and goes to get her staff. "Listen, Orson. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. I don't know what's come over me."

"Well, then, next time, try keeping your mind on your work!" Orson says.

"Umm..." Rey says. "Listen, I think I'd better call it a night. Sorry again for ruining your night. But, I've got take care of something. Why don't you go ahead and pay me now?"

Orson's jaw drops and he looks at her incredibly. "After this half-ass of a performance you gave me, almost tearing off my arms and crushing my collar bone? You expect me to pay you the full amount?!"

"Yeah, I do." Rey says in a matter-of-fact tone. "It'll save me the trouble of coming after you and dealing with you later."

Orson clutches his fists, feeling as though he's just be threaten. "Who the FUCK do you think you're talking to?!" Orson asks. "I'm a Goddamn Judge on the bench! I'm the authority! You don't go threaten a judge, you stupid whore!"

Just then, Rey's eyes turn an unholy shade of red and she gets right into his face.

Orson reels back in fear.

"It's because something's come up that I can't waste the second it would take to tear out your fucking throat." Rey says. "So, here's the deal!" Her eyes then turn white as does Orson's. "Once you've paid me, you're never gonna set foot in here ever again. You're gonna forget all about me, your visits, and everything you saw here tonight. When I leave here, you're gonna go home and take the rest of the night to think about how to move forward with you marriage as well as how to deal with your ugly ass temper. Y'know, you were actually really pleasant up until just now. I realize that I've caused you pain. So, I won't make too big a deal about this. But, that outburst was uncalled for. I never wanna see you in here again. And you better learn how to treat me with respect the next time you see me. Understand?"

"I understand." Orson says, while in a trance.

"Now, gimme the money so I can get outta here." Rey demanded.

Like a puppet of the string, Orson just hands it right over. $300 bucks!

"Now, get up." Rey orders.

Orson gets up.

"Get out." Rey says.

Orson heads out with Rey on his heels.

"And don't talk to anyone about anything." Rey says. "Head straight for your car and take it back home with you. Don't stop for anything."

Orson power walks down the hall as Rey comes to a dead stop. He just keeps walking until he's reached the door heading back into the bar.

Rey, whose eyes are still glowing white, then scans the hallway. She lost track of both Lydia and 'Dead Eyes' and now she can't find them anywhere. She begins to freak out because she can't stand the thought of losing someone else around here.

But, just then, the overweight man from before was walking around inconspicuously (But, not really...) as he himself headed for the alleyway door. Rey spots him as he leaves out of the restroom and, narrowing her eyes after him, decides to follow him.

* * *

Rey comes running out of the side door in time to hear poor Lydia screaming for help. Sounds like a struggle, like she's being forced to go somewhere against her will. 

_"Quit fucking kicking me."_ Rey hears a man shout. _"Look, there's no getting out of this! You're coming with us!" _

_"Let... Let go of me!"_ Lydia demands.

_"I can't do that, sweetheart."_ The man says.

Rey races towards the sound of both voices, slowing down a bit when she sees that she's approaching the heavy set man she was following inside.

_"I've got a deal to deliver 14 pretty, young girls to some people who can help provide a better life for them..."_ The kidnapper says. _"And adding you makes girl no. 14. Now, come on!"_

Lydia continues to grunt/cry as she tries her damnedest to get away from her kidnapper.

_"Why are you struggling so much? We're not gonna hurt you. Just take it easy."_ The aggressive man says just above a calm whisper. _"Look, we're taking you away from all this. We're giving you a chance to live a better life where you can make some serious money and not have to degrade yourself any further. This'll be good for you. Someone wants to take care of you. You'll soon be living the high life away from the rat infested shitholes you're used to. You're being offered a better, cleaner life. You won't have to make your living on your back anymore. What's so wrong with that?"_

Lydia growls in a loud hum.

_"ARGH!"_ Aggressive man grunts in pain. _"You better not bite me, you crazy bitch! I'll cut your fucking nipples off if you do!"_

"No! You can't do that." The heavy set man says, trailing along behind Lydia and the kidnapper as Rey closes in on him. "We're going paid $500 bucks for 14 girls. 14 girls, prime, pretty, and perfect! But, Plutt isn't looking for damaged goods!"

_ "You don't think I know that?!" _The Kidnapper scowls, voice growing louder as Rey closes in.

"Do you, though!?!" Big man asks. "This is how we earn our retirement. With clean girls in good condition. But, we won't see a cent of that money of this girl has no nipples!"

_"Yeah, yeah, yeah, alright!"_ The kidnapper says. _"Hurry up, lard ass!"_ **** <strike></strike>

Rey turns the corner to see that it was 'Dead Eyes', the man Lydia was dancing for until he sexually battered her.

"No, please!" Lydia screamed. "Stop! Let me go!"

"Help me get her in the car!" 'Dead Eyes' says. "Hurry!"

Rey cuts her eyes at the kidnapping bastards, flexing her fingers and balling up his fists as she gets ready to attack. She crounces down, eyeballing the 2 kidnappers, Lydia, the car's license plate, the two heads in the backseat, and the knife that 'Dead Eyes' has to Lydia's throat. She goes to confront both men.

But, before she can, she feels a hand landing on her shoulder. The hand spins her around and she's face to face with Dryden Vos.

"REY!! WHAT THE FUCK'S GOING ON?!" Vos asks in a harsh tone.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Rey looks over her right shoulder after hearing 'Dead Eyes' shouting. He sounds completely taken aback. He then pulls out his gun and aims at Rey and Dryden.

** [BLAM!] **

Bullet flies just pass Rey's right ear. Acting fast, she pushes Dryden down hard on the cold Asphalt paved parking lot, his back slamming against hard enough to be heard.

** [BLAM!] **

Gunshot rings out as the bullet hits the edge of the brick wall Rey and Dryden were just standing not 2 seconds ago.

'Dead Eyes' then pushes Lydia into big man's arms and he takes aim at Rey and Dryden's position on the ground, holding the gun up with both hands.

The heavy set gentleman leads Lydia towards the car and away from 'Dead Eyes'.

** [BLAM!] **

"COME ON!!" 'Dead Eyes' screams, shooting round after round towards the eavesdroppers.

** [BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!] **

Bullets hit the ground, near where their feet are, some ricochet. Others are embedded into the pavement.

Rey keeps Dryden pinned down on the ground, covering him from any stray bullets that may hit him.

** [CLICK! CLICK!] **

Gun's empty. The chamber hasn't closed back, indicating that it had no bullets left to fire.

Rey, knowing that Dryden usually has a gun on hand just in case, reaches into his waistband, feeling around quickly hoping to find something that shots back quick before 'Dead Eyes' can reload and come over, looking to kill someone.

Assumption confirmed as 'Dead Eyes' ejects the empty magazine from his gun, reaches into his jacket pocket, pulls out a loaded one, and slams it into his gun. His thumb hits a switch on the gun and the chamber slides close.

_"HEY! WHOEVER THE FUCK THAT IS, COME OUT!"_ 'Dead Eyes' demands. The sound of his shoes hitting the pavement echoes as he approaches. Looks like he is coming to kill somebody.

Desperate now, Rey turns Dryden over onto his stomach, flips up his jacket and sure enough, there it was, resting in the waistline on the small of Dryden's back. "There it is." She whispers under her breath. "Thanks. You'll have it back in a sec." Rey tells Dryden, patting his back. She then gets up to her feet, backing into the edge of the brickwall. She holds the gun up with both hands. She waits a bit longer, hearing 'Dead Eyes' coming ever closer.

She then rounds the edge of the wall, shooting once at 'Dead Eyes'.

** [BANG!] **

"Oh, Fuck!" 'Dead Eyes' shouts as he crouches low as he backs away from Rey. He then fires back.

** [BLAM!] **

Rey jumps back behind the wall, getting a quick outlook at where Lydia was, not wanting to hit her by accident. Once she sees Lydia being put into the car, she sets her sights back on 'Dead Eyes' and his men.

** [BANG!] **

Rey fires again at 'Dead Eyes'. "TAKE YOUR HANDS OFF LYDIA!!" She demands, running towards 'Dead Eyes' and shooting at his boys.

** [BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!] **

The last two shots find their mark and hits both of 'Dead Eyes' men. One in his shoulder and the other in his stomach.

Both grunt, feeling the hit from the bullets before falling down hard, hitting the pavement with loud impact sounds.

Lydia stands in shock as she looks down at the fallen men, though they're not dead. Their just clutching their injuries.

'Dead Eyes' looks over his left shoulder to see his men down. He then stares daggers at Rey. "You nosy Bitch!" 'Dead Eyes' growls.

Rey takes aim at 'Dead Eyes', firing 3 more times. emptying her firearm.

** [BANG! BANG! BANG!] **

He counches all the way down while running over to a dumpster in the alleyway. All three shots miss.

'Dead Eyes' ducks behind the dumpster for cover, peeking beside it to keep an eye on Rey. "Holy Shit! Where the hell did she come from?" He asks under his breath. "Don't you know who it is you're fucking with?!"

"Nope!" Rey says honestly. "No idea."

"Well, clearly." 'Dead Eyes' says. "If you did. you wouldn't still be out here. Look, I don't know who the fuck you are either. But, you're interrupting my business. If I had the time, I'd take you with me and curve you up like a holiday turkey. But, luckily for you, I don't. So, I'll be generous. Since I'm on a timetable, you've only one chance to walk away now. Stick around, and we'll light your ass up."

"You and what crew?" Rey asks. "As far as I can see, you're the only man still standing. Well, the only one with a gun anyway."

'Dead Eyes' glances over to see that, in fact, both of his boys were down and the fat-ass didn't come with a heater. "Fuck!" He spits. He takes a moment, the adrenaline coming him too amped up to even think. And the girl with the gun isn't helping the situation. So... "Hey! Hey, hold on a minute! Don't shoot me. Okay?! Don't shoot! Let's just talk for a minute."

"Okay. So talk." Rey says bluntly.

'Dead Eyes' takes a moment to catch his breath. "Okay. Clearly we're getting off on the wrong foot here. Look, nothing personal, but my kind of business comes a lot people who're looking for girls to sell of their own. So, I apologize for shooting at you. I thought you were a rival gang or something. Tell me. Are you a cop?"

"Nope." Rey says. "Not a cop."

"Do you work for Artimage Hux?"

"Never heard of him." Rey comments.

'Dead Eyes' nods his head, like he's got something figured out. "Okay, good. Good. If you don't work for him, then this really was just a misunderstanding. Maybe we could still work something out." 'Dead Eyes' looks over at his guys, noticing their wounds. "Damn!" He comments. "Y'know, for a lousy shot, you really did a number on these boys. Mind keeping your finger off the trigger long enough to call 'em an ambulance?"

"You can call for an ambulance." Rey says with a friendly tone. "Can't make any promise I won't shoot you, though."

'Dead Eyes' throws his head back, exhales sharply. He's frustrated that a simply snatch has turned into a fucking shootout. "The fuck you doing out here anyway? This don't concern you."

"You're trying to abduct a friend of mine after you assaulted her." Rey states. "I'd say it does."

"So much for being diplomatic." 'Dead Eyes' mutters. "Okay. Let's just settle this shit then." He comes out from behind the dumpster, aiming his gun at Rey.

Rey, instinctively, pulls the trigger...

**[BANG!]**

'Dead Eyes' Flinches as the bullet has graze his face deep enough to make him bleed. He then whips his head back at Rey, looking at her like she was the Devil.

Rey pulls the trigger again...

**[CLICK!]**

...The gun was empty.

Seeing that she was out of rounds, 'Dead Eyes' steps out from behind the dumpster with a smug smirk on his lips. He takes aim at Rey's forehead and pulls the trigger.

**[BLAM!]**

...Hitting her dead in the center of her forehead.

Rey's head is thrown back from the impact and she falls down hard onto the pavement, seemingly lifeless.

"NO!" The heavy set man shouts in shock.

"REY! OH, MY GOD!" Lydia cried, covering her mouth in shock and in sorrow.

"How do you like that?" 'Dead Eyes' says. "All that bravado for nothing."

"What the fuck, Cullen?!" The Heavy set man shouts. "This was just suppose to be simple. Find a girl and bring her to Plutt! No one was suppose to get hurt!"

"Oh, shut the fuck up, Käufer!" 'Cullen' shouts. "Y'know, as a cop, you should be expecting shit to go down and be ready for it when it does!"

"Only when I need to!" Officer Käufer shouts. "And you didn't need to! She was out of bullets! You didn't have to shoot her!"

Cullen then looks over at the downed Rey. He presses his lips together in a tight line and nods, seemingly agreeing with Käufer. "Yeah, it does seem like a waste, doesn't it? I mean, she was good lookin', too. Too bad I couldn't talk her down. We could've taken her with us to Plutt! Or hell, I could've kept that for myself. Oh, well. Shit happens! Best not to dwell on shit you can't change. Let's move on."

"No! No, wait! Hold on!" Käufer says. "There's a dead woman here. I need to... I need to call this in to homicide."

"No, you don't." Cullen states coldly.

"What?!" Käufer asks, sounding shocked. "I have to! It's my job!"

"You're not a cop right now." Cullen says. "You're just a fat fuck working for Unkar Plutt."

"Well, not anymore!" Käufer says. "Not after this! If this is how Mr. Plutt conducts all of his shady deals, I want no more part of it."

"You don't get to turn your back on your obligations." Cullen says. "What? You think you're suddenly too good to be doing this kind of thing? When you agreed to work for Plutt, it was with the understanding that you'd handle things before they get outta hand. Don't forget you came to us."

"I didn't want anyone to die." Käufer says sadly.

"Well, someone did." Cullen says. "Y'know what? You've been a fuckup ever since we took you on. How in the hell have you survived so long wearing those dress blue? And that fucking badge? You couldn't even see that you were bringing somebody outside with you."

"What?" Käufer asks. "What the hell are you talking about?"

The girl, moron!" Cullen insults. "The girl! You failed to notice the girl. You failed to notice that a stripper was on to you. The whole time you were in there, you didn't see that you were being followed?! Even when you saw she had a gun, you didn't do shit. Why didn't you try and take it from her? In fact, how did you not see her tailing your stupid ass?! Alright. "You know what? Fuck it! I'll take blondie back. You stay here with the dead brunette." He goes over, reaching for Lydia.

But, Käufer defies him, pulling Lydia behind him in a protective manner, surprising even Cullen. "You're not taking her anywhere. You killed an innocent woman. You're going down for this."

Cullen chuckles, being both impressed and amused.

But, he doesn't have time for this. He lifts his gun and places the barrel to Käufer's right temple. As he stares into Käufer's eyes, he notices that fear was present in them. Yet, he wasn't backing down. Not even an inch. Hard to believe that this wimp-ass was on the force for the last 5 years. How the fuck did he survive 5 years?!

Seeing that Käufer was solid in his conviction, Cullen sighed harshly. "Oh, fuck it." He then lower his gun, causing Käufer to sigh in relief. Suddenly, Cullen then whips his harm and hits Käufer hard in the right side of his head with his gun.

Käufer falls to the ground in a daze.

Cullen then walks towards Lydia as she backs away fearfully. He then runs over to her, crouching down, lining up his right shoulder with her abdomen and tackles her. He grabs her around her waist and throws her up on his shoulder.

Lydia kicks and screams, but it's no use. Cullen walks her over to the car and throws her in the backseat. He looks down at his own guys, seeing them looking up at him pleadingly. He shakes his head and walks around the car to get in the driver's seat. Slamming the door, he puts the car in drive and takes off, leaving Käufer, his two injured men, and a cowardly Dryden Vos (Who was lying in cover the entire time) behind as he sped off down the alleyway and into the dark streets.

Käufer struggles to seat up as he looks over at Rey's dead body, crying that he didn't do anything to stop this from happening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know that Rey's not really dead, right?
> 
> Please comment and share your thoughts!


	5. The Red Queen Thrists

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The meeting between D.J. and Valo is set and everyone on the sting is on edge, anxious as to what might happen next.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First chapter features blood and blood drinking.

**EARLIER THAT AFTERNOON... 10 HOURS AFTER THE KIDNAPPING...**

It's late in the afternoon over in Delphin in West Coruscant. As expected, it's business as usual, as the guys work in the harbor loading and unloading ships, packing trucks, and managing some of the other warehouse. There's the standard foot traffic and moving parts. So, there's nothing out of the ordinary.

But, the sound of tires screening and two vehicles speeding through the place has nearby bystanders noticing and mummering concerns.

_"__Captain?" _Temmin calls over the phone. _"Captain, you there?! Come in?!"_

Captain Fett and Lieutenant Dameron are both in their cars, hauling ass back to the warehouse they control as they answer to Sergeant Wexley's sudden upsetting call.

"What's going on over there, Wexley?!" Capt. Fett shouts over his cell's radio app as he narrowly avoids running into a moving forklift. Zay's riding shotgun and is holding on for dear life.

_"We've got an unidentified white van that just pulled up on the north side of our location." _Temmin answers. _"There are no visible plates. And although the vehicle is heavily tended, there appears to be at least two men sitting in the van. We can't tell if they're armed or not."_

"How the hell did that van slip into our perimeter without anyone knowing about it?!" Capt. Fett yelled into his phone.

_"We're not sure about that, Cap." _Temmin says. _"We've just got visual not 10 minutes ago. And, we've received no word from our officers that there was a shootout or sneak attack of any kind."_

"So, you're telling me that someone just rolled up to one of our check points and kept going without anyone getting wise to them?" Asks Captain Fett, sounding dumbfounded.

_"More than likely, it's someone who with bribe money to have whoever was on watch look the other way." _Temmin stated.

"Goddammit!" Cursed Fett. "I'm gonna kick the SHIT outta whoever the fuck let this happen. But, in the meantime, we assume that whoever's there has come for Jane! Make sure that everybody in that damn warehouse has him covered. And I want you, Moradi, and Pava with guns on those bastards. Some of the other officers may not take this seriously. But, Goddammit, we do! And we're gotta make sure whoever's in the van knows that we're serious, too! Get out there and keep whoever's inside from getting out."

_"You got it, Cap!" _Temmin responds.

"Keep an eye on them." Fett says. "But, keep your distance. And don't do anything until Dameron and I get there! We're only a minute out and closing in quick!"

Zay looks over at Fett with a look of fear and concern. The sound of Temmin's voice is indistinct, but she's sure that he's relying orders to the other officers inside.

* * *

Back at the warehouse, Temmin, Vi, and Jessika all come out of the north side of the warehouse with their guns drawn. As they close in on the van, they notices other plain clothes officers have already descended on the white van.

"HEY, NO!" Temmin shouts at them, holding his hand up as a gesture for them to stop. "Don't get too close! Stay back!"

"GET AWAY FROM THAT VAN!" Vi shouts as she all but hauls ass over to the vehicle with Temmin and Jessika right behind her.

Coming within 15 feet of the heap, all 3 detectives now have their guns trained on the two visible men in the front seat. The Vehicle's engine was still running and it was plain that the heap wasn't parked. The driver's foot was on the break.

"DRIVER!" Vi shouts. "PUT THE VAN IN PARK AND ROLL DOWN THOSE WINDOWS!"

The Driver appears to be confused to the order or just didn't hear her. Either way, he doesn't respond in anyway. 

"I'LL SAY IT AGAIN!" Vi shouts. "PUT THE VAN IN PARK AND ROLL DOWN THOSE WINDOWS!! OR WE WILL LIGHT YOU BOTH UP! RIGHT! NOW! NOW, DO IT!!"

The Driver then looks to be questioning his passenger. Both men exchange questioning looks with one another.

"DON'T BE STUPID!" Temmin shouts. "JUST DO IT!!"

"WE DON'T WANNA HAVE TO KILL YOU!!" Jessika shouted next. "BUT WE WILL IF YOU DON'T DO AS SHE SAYS!!"

Finally, the driver puts the van in park and presses the button for both windows to roll down.

The 3 VCU Detectives take a step closer, readjusting their grips on their guns and raise them a bit higher to show them that they mean business here.

"GET YOUR HANDS OUT WHERE WE CAN SEE THEM!!" Vi commanded. "STICK THEM OUT OFF OF BOTH WINDOWS, HIGH WHERE WE CAN ALL SEE THEM!"

Both men appear to understand her as they comply, slowly holding their hands out.

"Okay, good." Temmin states. "So far, so good. Now, with your right hands only... your right hands only... open your doors and step out of the vehicle."

Both gentlemen then reach down to the door handles outside of the vehicle and go to open them.

"Don't do anything stupid, now!" Jessika says.

There's a synchronized pop as both doors are opened at the exact same moment and both of the guys, dressed in very fine suits, are now stepping out.

"Get down on your knees!" Vi shouts.

They comply.

"And now, down on your stomachs!" Vi orders.

They comply.

"Officers, take 'em!" Vi orders.

Two plain clothed cops head over to the down men with haste, pulling out their handcuffs.

Vi, Jessika, and Temmin all then go running over to the two doors at the back of the van.

The officers ordered the men in suits to put their hands on their heads, interlock their fingers, and keep absolutely still. They crouch down, grabbing their wrists and slaps on cuffs. Once both men are handcuffed, they are then made to stand up.

"Bring 'em over." Temmin says.

The Officers follow his order.

"Hey, whoa!" One suited man says. "Take it easy! Take it easy!"

Just then, both Jango and Poe pull up to the scene and get out of their vehicles, with their guns raised.

"Zay, you stay in the truck!" Jango orders when he hears her opening her door.

She closes the door back as Poe and Jango rush over to just their fellow officers with their weapons trained on the two cuffed men.

Temmin and Jessika notice the two as Vi turns to both suited men. She asks, "What's back here?"

"Hold on!"/"Don't shoot!" The two men in suits say, sounding extremely worried.

"Why?" Jango asks. "What do you have back here?"

"Is there a bomb in that van?!" Poe asks, gesturing to the van and sounding very worried.

"You motherfuckers!" Temmin says.

"Shit!" Poe curses. "We don't have time to call in the bomb squad."

"It's not..." Suited Man #1 starts to say but stops as the officer holding him pulls him away from the van. "...It's not a bomb! Okay?! It's our boss!"

"Your Boss?" Jango asks. "Who? Not Johnny Valo."

_"NO! IT ISN'T!" _A female voice coming from inside the van shouted. 

Jango's eyes widen in surprise as he instantly recognizes that voice. Poe, Temmin, Vi, and Jessika all exchanged dumbfounded looks, clearly they, too, recognize that voice.

"You're not serious..." Jango mutters under his breath. He then goes over, holstering his weapon. "Go get me the keys." 

Another officer go and does as his captain orders. She turns the key in the ignition counter clockwise, turning the heap off. She pulls out the key and runs over to Jango.

Jango takes the key of the female officer and unlocks the back of the van. Once unlocked, both he and Poe go over and open both doors.

Sure enough, the first thing they see is the purple shine of the Deputy Chief's hair. Amilyn Holdo was kneeling against the of the white cargo van.

"Deputy Chief?" Jango asks.

"Captain." Holdo says in a greeting manner. "You don't look like you weren't expecting me. Come help me out."

Jango then reaches for her hand to help her out of the back.

Taking his hand, Holdo climbs out of the van's cargo bed, much to the surprise of everyone else there.

"Well, not... quite." Capt. Fett stats. "I wasn't expecting you until we had everything under wraps. What you doing here?"

"Maybe we should be moving this whole conversation indoors first?" Poe says. "Word's being circulated now. And I'd hate if we were all caught out here, dangling in the wind like this if Valo shows up."

"Good idea." Fett says. "Let's go. All of us."

Fett, Holdo, Poe, Vi, Jessika, and Temmin all go to head inside as the plain clothes officers return to their positions. The two who were still holding the suited men cuffed lets them go and they begrudgingly pushes them away as they massage their wrists. The two officers shrug an apology before they too return to their posts.

Zay, who's been hanging back in the background up until now, takes a quick look around before she joins the others as they head inside the warehouse.

As they walk, Jessika then notices that her friend, Finn, was absent. "Hey. Uh, guys?" She calls out, getting people's attention. "Where _is_ Finn?" 

"Having a little chat with his sister." Fett says as he keeps walking.

"Jannah's here?" Jessika asks. "Hold up. Why?"

"You'd have to ask him." Poe says. "He sounded pretty upset about her calling him."

"Okay." Jessika says in a 'I-got-that-part' kind of tone. "But, where is he? He should be here."

"Back near the F Warehouse." Zay says.

"Goddamn!" Temmin shouts. "Could those two have not picked a worst time to have a family get-together?"

Jessika watches as everyone walk away before she turns her head, looking out for any sighs for Finn. She can't put her finger on it, but she knows that something isn't right. Either with Finn himself, this whole sting, or hell, even with D.J. She starts thinking that maybe she's imagining things. But, she can't shake the feeling that something just wasn't right.

Not seeing him, she sighs, following the rest of her Unit.

* * *

Over at the East end of the Police perimeter, two unmarked police cars were acting as a blockade of sorts as a means to keep folks from coming in or leaving out, just in case shit was going down. Word came over the radio from Detective Wexley that everyone needed to be on guard. It's been about 5 minutes and not a single shot was fired.

5 plain clothes officers were standing behind their squad cars, their weapons at the ready.**** <strike></strike>

"So, what's the deal?" An Officer Howser asks. "Are you expecting trouble or what?"

"Shush, shush." Officer Karl hushes Howser as he holds his radio up to his ear. He frowns as he listens intensely before it drops in favor of a disappointed frown. "Nope. False alert. It was just the Deputy Chief."

The other 4 officers sigh in frustration. 

"Goddammit! I knew it!" An Officer complains. "We're not gonna see any action today! We're just wasting our time on standby."

"Hey, hey, Wedjet!" Says Officer Karl. "I get your upset. But, cool it. Stay on watch and keep a lookout for trouble."

"The fuck for?!" Officer Wedjet says. "Nothing's gonna happen. Those fuckers in the Violent Crimes Unit. They always fucking with us!" He starts walking off, uncocking his weapon and putting it away.

"Wait up!" Another plain clothes officer calls out. "Hey, Jessup!" Says his partner, Officer Käufer...

...the same officer Käufer who's gonna be at the Heaven's Darling later tonight, watches Rey dance and get shot in the head. And his partner is Jessup Wedjet, the same Jessup who was harassing his ex-girlfriend Lydia, who also works at Heaven's Darlings and who Käufer sees gets abducted. 

"...Don't worry about it." Officer Käufer says. "Just think of this as us getting paid to kick back."

"Yeah?" Officer Wedjet asks. "Well, I'm tired of kicking back."

"Yo!" Käufer says. "With all this overtime we've been collecting... plus that side gig we've got, going on later tonight, it'll all be worth it if we have a little patience. Think about it, chum. We'll still be kicking back tonight. But, it'll be with drinks in our hands and titties in our faces."

"Yeah." Officer Wedjet says. "Yeah. That's right. I'll be getting shit-faced and my cock rode on. What the fuck am I complaining about? I've got that to look forward to."

"Yep." Officer Käufer says. He then looks over Wedjet's left shoulder, noticing Karl and Howser were talking amongst themselves. "Speaking of which, you all set for the lift?"

"Yeah, but..." Wedjet rubs the back of his neck, worried or concerned about something. "Does... does it have to be Lydia?"

Käufer sighs, hanging his head. "Jess, come on, man!"

"No, no, man." Wedjet says. "We can... we can get some other girl. Joy, Pepper... maybe even Ruby."

"No, man. We talked about this already with Plutt and Cullen." Käufer says. "Lydia is the girl we scooping up. She was your suggestion, remember?"

"Well, I change my mind, alright?" Wedjet says.

"Why the fuck...?!" Käufer says. "You said you couldn't stand her anymore."

"At the time, I couldn't care less about her." Wedjet says. "She had broken my heart when she left me for that big time S.W.A.T. cop Sharp. I figured 'what the fuck?' sell her ass to Plutt. She deserves it for walking out on me. But, I've been thinking about it. And I don't want her to go." Wedjet sighs in regret. "Look, man. I still love her, alright? I still want to be with her. And if she's still in Coruscant, then I'll still have a chance to win her back over. But, when you think of all the things they do to those girls... I don't want that to happen to Lydia."

Käufer goes to argue when...

"Hey!"

Käufer bites his lower lip and looks back at Karl and Howser, who were walking over to them.

"What are you two talking about?" Karl asks. "Get back into position. Now!"

Käufer looks back at Wedjet, who's looking at him with a pleading look. Käufer shakes his head before following the senior officers as they walk away.

Wedjet sighs, knowing that there's no possible way if getting Käufer to change his mind. He was the one who talked him into joining Plutt's outfit when he was living from paycheck to paycheck. It would be Ironic of him to try and talk him out of this. Not to mention, hypocritical of him if he backed out of this. But, he's gotta do something. He knows that he's gotta do something.

Hanging his head in shame, Wedjet follows his partner. 

* * *

Holdo takes in a deep breath before letting it out in a sharp sigh. "I'm not gonna lie to you, Captain. But, I still think this whole plan is ridiculous. It's all based on you and your unit hoping that things would go according to plan. That if Valo ever shows up, that he won't expect a trap. That he wouldn't take out Dario Jane himself. Or that it's Mitaka that he'll call to take care of things. Quite frankly, this kind of half-assed operation would guarantee you losing your badge as you're laughed out of the Police commissioner's office. And that's if you don't wind up in a psychiatric hospital somewhere. Because all of this is crazy. Beyond crazy."

"Yes, Deputy Chief." Capt. Fett says. "You've more than made your point back at the precinct. So, why are you here now? Not just to restate what you've already said, I'm hoping."

The Deputy Chief notes the snarky tone as well as the unappreciated sarcastic comment that he finished with. Both made from give him a knowing smirk and a brief frown. But, she lets it go for now. "Well, seeing as how things are likely not to go the way we want them to, I figured there's a greater outcome of this if we did everything we could do to put a stop to these animals as opposed to us doing nothing at all."

"I'm sorry. But, I'm confused. What are you saying, Ma'am?" Jango asks, sounding pretty confused.

"Oh, It's not that hard to understand, Fett." Holdo comments. "It's a simple matter of me being cautiously optimistic." Amilyn Holdo then folds her arms as she walks an aimlessly line, putting her thoughts together in her head. "Needless to say, this whole sting has a definite possible of ending an absolute disaster. Too many variable to consider and everything is basically happening outside of our control. But, as likely as this thing is to fail, it also has a likelihood of success." She says. "I've been doing some thinking. And I've began to wonder maybe I do come off as a bit of a pessimist. Perhaps I should think of things in a more hopeful way. What if things happen the way they should? That, in the face of unimaginable failure and severe consequences, we success in saying, grabbing Valo. Seizing his organization. Keep chopping down his hierarchy until we find someone willing to talk to save their own necks. There's more ways than one to flush out Mitaka and take down the First Order in the process. Regardless of what happens, I'm here to support all of you. When the higher-ups come around, asking how we could've allowed horrible things to happen, and where was I during all of this, I'd be better off telling them that I did everything I could do out here to help you all save lives. And, as crazy as this is about to sound, I actually think we might be able to pull this thing off."

Poe, Jessika, Temmin, and Vi all look at one another, wondering if they were hearing this right. That the big Deputy Chief was willing to put herself in such a predicament, all for their sakes? Even though she was known to be antagonistic outwardly. Maybe inwardly she had a heart after all. That, or she was doing everything she could just to make sure her own ass was covered in the end.

Vi and Temmin definitely do think that. But, would never admit it out loud. 

"I know how all of this might sound." The Deputy Chief states. "But, since we're all likely to end up losing our jobs and our freedom either way, I'd rather be here than sitting in my office, staring at computer screen and waiting for good or bad news. There's a lot at stake right now, so you've got me." Holdo says, looking at Fett. "I'm not here as a Deputy Chief right now, Captain. I'm here as an Officer like the rest of you. And I'd like to help..." before she turns her attention to Poe. "...if you'd have me."

"So, despite all your worries, you're willing to take a chance on our plan?" Poe asks. "Even though you've called it crazy more than a few times now?"**** <strike></strike>

"Oh! Yeah, I still think it's crazy. Undeniably batshit crazy." Holdo says. "Crazy to consider. But, maybe even crazy enough to work."

Fett, for the first time today, (...Maybe ever...) has a smile growing on his lips. He nods understandingly as he looks around at all the others. "Hmm. As likely as things are to fail, they're likely to success. Makes sense to me. I don't know about the rest of you. But, I'll take those odds. It's certainly better than going all out with nothing to work with. Being able to adapt in situations like this is the only real outcome of stings like these. Some things are just out of your control. You'd just gotta have faith that things are gonna work out. In one way or another. In one form or another."

Holdo nods at Fett's own sudden optimism. "Who's idea was this?"

"Detective Storm's." Capt. Fett says.

"Well, I'd be sure that he gets the credit he's due if this operation successes." Holdo says. "Or he'll get the full brunt of the fallout if it fails."

"Typical." Poe whispers under his breath.

* * *

Wary of the men in the containment yard working, Finn keeps moving, on foot, as he navigates his way over to the rendezvous his sister made up for them just a few minutes ago. Noticing her car parked by the water and her leaning against the hood of it, Finn tilts his head up as he makes his way over to her.

Hearing her brother's footsteps on the asphalt surface of the driveway, Jannah looks over her right shoulder and smiles at his approaching form. She hops up off of her hood and goes over to meet him.

"_Ma sœur!_" Finn calls out in a greeting. French for (**"My Sister!"**).

"_Mon frère!_" Jannah calls back with a grin. French for (**"My Brother!"**). She then gives her brother a loving hug. She hums happily. "Thanks for coming. I haven't seen you in a minute."

"Yeah, I know." Finn says before he groans as he lifts his sister up high into the air before setting her back down, holding her close.

They rock side to side before they finally let go of one another.

"How's the newest star of the Gang unit?" Finn asks.

"Oh, my God! I'm tired!" Jannah says. "Saw Gerrera is relentless! I've only been at this a month and already I'm being run ragged!"

"What?!" Finn says. "Why? What's the deal?"

"Saw's hard on the new people." Jannah says. "He says that he doesn't consider the newbies in his unit as worth their salt yet. So, they've got to 'put the work in'. Even cops were years on the force need to prove themselves to him. Saying that they've gotta to be molded properly before they're given the respect he owes them."

"_Damn!_" Finn says. "Y'know, I've always heard that guy was intense!"

"Intense!" Jannah scoffs. "Try hardcore. And I did, too. But, seeing is _definitely_ believing!"

Finn chuckles at her responds. "Well, I've seen you get dropped through the ringer and bounce back like it was nothing. You've already got a good head on your shoulders when it comes to doing the job. just hang it there. You'll be alright."

"Yeah, I know." Jannah says like it's no big deal.

Finn gives Jannah a perplexed glance before he shakes his head while smiling. "So, what's going on?" Finn asks. "How'd you know I'd be here?"

"Tsk!" Jannah tilts her head back, pressing her lips together with a knowing smirk. "How do you think?"

Finn sighs harshly. "Rose."

"Exactly." Jannah states.

"This was suppose to be on a need-to-know only basis." Finn comments. "What is she doing running her mouth about this to her girlfriend?"

"You know how Rose is." Jannah says. "She might be hard as nails when it comes down to it. But, when she's around me, she's putty in my hands." Jannah says. "And she can't keep secrets to save her life."

"But, when did you even have a chance to talk to her?" Finn asks. "We've been busy all day."

"It must have been when you guys were questioning witnesses." Jannah guesses. "I called her when I saw the news and picked up the latest chat on the street."

"And what was that?" Finn asks.

Jannah then turns serious. "I've got something I need to tell you. It's concerning your case on Mitaka."

"Wha...?" Finn asks. "What about Mitaka?"

"There's word coming from Solitary Square that some _Putih gadis _has put out a 100k reward out on the street for someone to find Dopheld Mitaka and bring him to her." Jannah says.

Finn frowns at this. "Oh, shit. There's a bouncy on this guy now?!"

"Yeah, and it gets worst." Jannah says. "This _Puti__h gadis _has gone to several gangs out there and words being bouncing from one corner of one borough to the corner of another borough. So, at this point, it's been 3 hours since the new report. There's no telling how people in Solitary know about the reward money or how far the chatter has spread outside the area."

"Goddammit!" Finn curses. But, then he glowers from a lack of understanding. "_Putih gadis_?" He asks.

"It's Indonesian." Jannah says. "For 'white girl'."

"'White girl?'" Finn questions. He then gets an idea where Jannah might be going with this. "Wait. You don't think..."

"Well, she is the only other woman who has a connection to little Bree Bainer." Jannah comments. "Aside from the girl's mother, that is."

"Hmm..." Finn hums. "I can't disprove anything right now. But, I'm not convinced that Rey would put a bounty out on anyone. It's not in her nature. Plus, she doesn't have that kind of money on hand."

"That you know of." Jannah says. "Money-wise or attitude-wise."

Finn keeps his next comment to himself lest he expose the 'Queen of the night'. "Indonesian, huh? That would mean..."

"Yep!" Jannah says. "That's right. Kanjiklub is in the midst of people on the lookout for Bree's kidnapper."

Finn bites his lower lip in thought. "How long have you known about this?"

"Not until an hour after the news announced Bree's abduction this morning." Jannah answers. "The others in my unit and I have been trying to stay ahead of things, hoping to identify the _Putih gadis. _But, we're running out of time. I tried calling you earlier but I couldn't reach you. So I called Rose, trying not to disrupt the status quo. She told me of the plan you guys came up with. I figured telling you this now was better than waiting until later when it was too late."

"Yeah." Finn thinks about it. "Yeah, I was in the middle of an interrogation. I never take my phone in there with me. And I've been so busy with babysitting, I didn't really have a chance to check it for calls." Finn rubs his chin thoughtlessly. "Okay, okay." Finn says, taking a moment to think. "Ugh, Gerrera's not gonna be happy you shared this with me. Fuck! I wish Rose would learn to keep her fucking mouth shut! Ugh!" Finn brainstorms a few seconds more until an idea slowly forms in mind. "I... I'll... I'll give the information to Fett, saying that a friend of mine and Rose's, Aidil, called me about the info. Aidil is a civilian, living in Solitary. But, he's a former member of Kanjiklub. He's also been known for keeping his ears on the street for chatter like this. So, as soon as he hears this, he calls me. But, since my phone was in my desk drawer, he couldn't reach me. He calls Rose instead, telling her about the bounty and Kajiklub's stirring about. This won't be anything new. He calls one of us whenever there's something going on in the neighborhood. But, when I got my phone back out, that's when I saw the text he left me, telling me everything he told Rose. You may wanna give Rose a head's up before I get back in there."

"Ah... okay." Jannah says.

"I'll get him to send me a text about what's going on." Finn says.

"And uh... how are you gonna explain talking to me for so long?" Jannah asks.

"I'll... just say that you came across Aidil from Rose, who brought Aidil to your attention when the two of you were running your mouths." Finn says. "As a member of the Gang Unit and a concerned cop, you thought he was putting his life on the line needlessly... him being a citizen and all. And with Kanjiklub on the move, there's just too many things that could go wrong. You go and when you picked him up, he gave you my name and you came here to tell me that you were concerned for his safety. You couldn't risk telling me any of this from your precinct over the phone in fear of any Kanjiklub owned cops eavesdropping on you. That way, Gerrera can't give you too hard a time for just protecting someone your girlfriend cared about. Neither can Fett. It won't be held against you for keeping this from him. And don't worry about Rose. I've got her covered."

"Hey." Jannah says in amazement. "That's a good idea. A real good idea. Hey, how did you get so crafty?"

"Working for Jango Fett long enough, you pick up a few tricks here or there." Finn says. "Now, just to keep the charade going, why don't you go pick up Aidil now?"

"Yeah, alright." Jannah says.

"I'll take this info back to the boss." Finn says as he walks away.

Jannah then looks again over her left shoulder. "Don't get killed saving the world, you hear me?"

Finn gives her a thumbs up in acknowledgement as he walks off.

* * *

**LATER THAT NIGHT... OUTSIDE OF HEAVEN'S DARLINGS**

Vision blurry and head throbbing, Officer Käufer stumbles to his feet to check on the damage done to the poor woman Cullen shot.

Dryden, upon hearing the car driving off, finally gets to his feet and looks around, assessing the damage done to his club and to the surrounding parked vehicles. Things appear to be okay, though when Dryden noticed some dried up mud made from a past rain storm on his suit, he hastily tries to brush it off. Dryden then turns and finally faces the downed Rey. When he sees her, he sighs. This poor woman was out here trying to keep her friend from getting snatched up and for her troubles, she gets killed. What an unnecessary turn of events.

Käufer tries to find his footing, but he can only take a few steps before falling back down onto his knees. He can't get a clear view of things as his vision is blurry. He may be suffering a concussion or maybe he's just stunned. Either way, he feels he needs to get to this young woman who's death could've been prevented had he noticed her shadowing him before. He sniffles as tears begin to sting his eyes. Nobody was suppose to get hurt.

But, now somebody is dead. He's done this kind of thing before and while some folks have gotten hurt for sure, everyone who was sent to the hospital was sent there alive. There's was never any need for a Medical Examiner... until now. Käufer knows that he's bound to lose his badge, much less his freedom. But, he doesn't care. As lousy as he feels right now, he feels even worse due to the fact that he is, in fact, a cop and did nothing to stop this from happening. He wishes he could go back and decided to leave with his partner, Wedjet, when he cleared out of the parking lot. Wedjet didn't want Lydia to be taken away. So, he arrives at the club roughly a few minutes before Käufer does to stop the kidnapping. But, when Lydia accused him of being a weak man, failing to measure up to the new man in her life, Wedjet snapped! He yelled at her for being the kind of whore he should have left her where he found her. After that little exchange, he get into his truck and drove off, headed back to the warehouse where the VCU was set up.

If Käufer had any common sense, he would've pulled out with him.

The messed up part was that Wedjet was the one who got Käufer involved in Unkar Plutt's trafficking business. As a newly divorced man and father of 2, he needed money! Money that he couldn't earn, working for Coruscant P.D. not even with overtime or added assignment. Doing what a partner does, Wedjet introduces him to Cullen, whom he's been working with for the last 5 years. And, again, people got hurt. But, nobody died.

Crawling over to the woman, whose stage name was 'Desert Ruby', Käufer takes her hand, whose was already cold and tearfully apologizes to her. "I'm sorry." He says. "I'm... I'm so sorry. I can't believe any of this happened. You seem like such a caring person. You were only looking out for a friend and it got you killed. I should've protected you and I didn't. And I... I... I didn't! Ruby, I'm... I'm..." His voice cracks. He's on the verge of breaking down. "...I'm so sorry." He begins to cry. He holds up her knuckles to his forehead, sobbing in a deeply regretful and remorseful way.

Dryden Vos walks over to the officer crying over Rey and without a word, pulls out his cellphone and begins to dial 911.

Käufer doesn't immediately recognize it when it happens. But, he's too grief-stricken. But, the back of Rey's finger smooth over his forehead and they glide down the left side of his face. Her palm lies open, gently cupping his left cheek. It's only when Käufer feels the pressure of a tightening grip that he starts to realize that something was off.

"My name..."

Käufer looks down and in a moment of horror, his eyes widen when he hears a familiar voice. Coming from directly beneath him.

Rey's head then tilts to the right, the back of her head resting on the pavement. Her eyelids lift up suddenly, causing Käufer to jump in surprise and Rey is staring him dead in the eye.**** <strike></strike>

"...is Rey Andor."

Käufer gasps in absolutely terror. Because usually dead bodies don't talk.

"And, as you can see, I'm bullet-proof." Rey says right before he hand clutches around Käufer's neck. Käufer gasps, flabbergasted as Rey lifts him up into the air as she gets to her feet. Holding him 4 feet off of the ground, Rey stares up at him, her eyes as red as blood. The bullet that hit her in the forehead was just sitting on top of it. It didn't even break the skin. So, as she stood up straight, the bullet merely just fell to the ground, a loud cling rings as it falls, undamaged, in between Rey's feet. "Correct me if I'm wrong. But... you're Käufer, correct?"

Käufer gasps as he struggles to understand why this woman is alive as well as to breath. 

"And the other guy is Cullen, is that right?" Rey asks.

Käufer continues to remain quiet as he stares at her, fear projecting from his eyes and face.

Rey is aware of that look and decides to use it as comfirmation. "I'll just take your silence as a 'yes'. Now, where would he have taken Lydia? I'm giving you a chance to speak freely. And you better have the right answer."

Käufer continues to struggle to make sense of her being alive right now that he fails to think of anything to say.

Just behind Käufer lie the two men that Rey shot earlier. They're both still clutching as they themselves look on is bewilderment. They both saw Cullen shoot this girl in the head. But, there she was, with the bullet still pressed up against her forehead as she holding lard-ass up high in the air. They don't know what the fuck is going on. But, they do know for a fact that if this woman can survive a shot to the head without any negative effects, she could survive anything. And if she's capable of lifting a 300+ man up so easily and with little to no effort, just imagine what she might do to people who piss her off. Like Käufer there.

"Answer me!" Both men flinch when they hear Rey shouting. "Where is Lydia?!" 

The gunman with the shoulder wound gets bug-eyed as he uncontrollably reaches for his gun holstered to his side. His breathing is erratic and he's shaking violently like the very earth beneath was shaking. His heart began to pound in his ears and sweat ran down his face as if he had to splashed with a bucket of water. Closer and closer, his hand reached for his weapon.

Though the moment it made contact with the gun, Rey tilted her head to the left and she noticed him staring at her.

"Oh, FUCK!!" The man shouted in desperation. He then whips out his gun, causing Rey turns to throw Käufer into the distracted Dryden Vos, who was currently arguing with the police on his phone. Käufer might be her only lead to Cullen, depending on how this little exchange goes.

The man then points his gun at Rey and she starts moving in his direct. He shoots at Rey, but in a blur, Rey seemingly disappears. He looks around for her, his eyes swiping wildly from side to side before Rey reappears, maintaining her course towards the gunman. He fires again and again she disappears only to reappear immediately after he's fired at her. Everytime he pulls that trigger, Rey vanishes into thin air. But, it's so strange to the shooter, because he could've sworn he's hit her a couple of times before she disappeared. Brief remnants of her afterimages are what the shooter is firing at.

He's fired a total of 6 times and all 6 shots have missed their mark. Before he can fire again, Rey is spontaneously standing over him, gripping him by his shirt and throwing his ass over to her right side, causing him to slam his back hard against the dumpster his boss hid behind before. He grunts in pain as he impacts in and slides down to the ground. Rey makes her way over to him again, gripping him this time with both hands by the lapels of his jackets. And as before, picks him up into the air.

"You seem like you've something to hide." Rey says. "Let's find out what."

The gunman manages to press his gun up against Rey's abdomen and fires, hitting him point blank in his stomach.

Rey looks down as if she actually felt the shot. But, insist of dropping him and falling down on her back. She looks up at him with this look that says 'Really? Are you serious?' Bullets can't hurt her. She was only doing all of that to show him that she was fast enough to dodge them if she wanted to. Besides, he saw her get shot in the head. Has it still not sunken in? Rey then just takes his right hand and twists it, breaking his wrist. 

The gunman grunts in agony before finally letting go of the gun.

Rey then pulls the man close.

The gunman closes his eyes, not wanting to see what's about to happen to him.

_**"Open your eyes."**_ Rey says, sounding calm from behind the dark, her breath cold against his face. _**"I said 'open your eyes'!"**_

As if out of control of his actions, the gunman indeed opens his eyes at Rey and sees that her irises were red as blood. He feels himself paralyzed with fear, expecting to be killed at any moment. Just then, her irises shift to hazel and the gunman slowly lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding. But, then immediately they've turned from hazel to white. Staring into her eyes, the gunman goes limp unable to look away, unable to speak. In fact, unable to even move.

Hearing voices, too many to make out. People talking, crying, screaming enter his head and he shakes violently again, whimpering as if he was looking into the pit of hell itself.

Rey narrows her eyes at him as she studies him. She can hear several voices and she sees several images in his head. She hears plenty and sees things she can never unsee. But, there's nothing there. Absolutely nothing that pinpoints Lydia or her where she could be taken.

"So, you're clueless." Rey says. "Which makes you useless. Hmm." She then sees the man with the stomach injury as well as Käufer, who struggles to get off of Dryden. "...Well, I've still got these two, at least." A thought that runs across Rey's mind as her head quickly whips back to face the gunman. "And fortunately for you, I don't have anymore time to mess with you. So, maybe I should just kill you right now."

"No!" The gunman pleads. "No! Wait, please!"

"What?" Rey says sternly, like he wasting her time.

"I can't tell where Cullen's taking the girl." The gunman says. "But, I can be useful in other ways, too. You want me to go find out. You want me to kill him for you. You want me to... be your sextoy. I'll do whatever you want me to do. Just... please! Please don't kill me!"

"No." Rey says. "Everything you just promised me stems from you being able to find him first. But, that's just gonna take way too much of my time."

"NO! I..." The Gunman shouts. "...I can still be useful to you. I know I can be. Just think on it. Please just think on it!"

"Hmm..." Rey hummed as she pondered. "Since you couldn't provide with any names or locations, maybe you can do something for me." I haven't eaten at all tonight and I'm famished. 

"No... No... No problem." The gunman. "I can go and get you something. I'll get you whatever you want. Just please... Please don't kill me."

"Well, I haven't eat at all tonight." Rey says. "And I'm famished."

"I can go get you something to eat!" Gunman says, practically begging. "There's a burger joint just up the road here! I'll be right back. Or you could come with me. Really, it wouldn't be any trouble."

"Oh, no?" Rey asks. "It wouldn't be any trouble?"

"Nope!" Gunman says. "None!"

"What's your name?" Rey asks.

"It's... It's Barker!" 'Barker says. "Barker!"

"Well, Barker..." Rey says. "While I'm grateful to you for your wonderful attention, I'm not really hungry for burger." Her eyes then turn red again.

"Then..." Barker says, his voice quivering. "...What?" 

Rey gives him an evil smile before she opens her mouth wide. Her two fangs extend with a loud **[POP!]**

Barker stares at the long teeth, eyes bleeding with panic, before Rey forcefully tilts his head to the side and sunk them into his neck. Both fangs poke right through the skin, puncture the jugular and blood seeps out, running like an open faucet. Barker screams in pain as he is powerless to fight. Vampire bites are something akin to snake bites. The venom in their fangs paralyzes the muscles in their victims so they can run or fight back as they feast. Barker shakes violently as he tries with every once of strength he still possesses as he struggles to get her off of him.

As hot blood pours into her mouth, Rey's pupils enlarge, effectively leaving no track of her cornea. They turn black as she drinks hungrily, the blood flows down her throat in pints. Reaching her stomach, the blood is quickly redistributed to her heart. Her heart, now full of warm human blood, quickly starts beating again and the blood flows into Rey's veins, her muscles, her organs, and her brain. Being an immortal vampire is a curse, because they need to feed on human blood regularly. Even though they are technically undead, going without it for too long make turn them into walking corpses. I.E. Zombies. Swallowing big gulps of lifeblood, Rey doesn't even stop to catch her breath (As if she needed to...) as she's been up for hours tonight as hasn't a single drop all night. So, she's getting her lion's share right now.

Käufer, Dryden, and the man with the wound to the stomach all who in horror as Barker continues to scream in bloody murder as Rey greedily downs his blood, some of it drips down, slipping onto the pavement. Poor Barker's scream go from high-pitched to a low cry as he's slowly drained until he has nothing life. And when he's finally just skin and bones, Rey stops, dropping his body down onto his knees. Rey licks her lips and wipes her mouth and sucks blood off of her fingers.

Rey, who's been pale all night, gets a glow about her as a light shade of pink highlights her skin. With a body full of warm blood circulating through her veins, she now has some pigment to better help her to blend into the surrounding people. Sighing in contentment, Rey turns to see the men all staring at her like she was in intergalactic alien. Suddenly acting all shy, Rey chuckles while whispering that her actions were very unladylike and that this whole thing was embarrassing. She then walks over to Dryden and Käufer, lifting her hand towards them like she was about to grab one of them.

Both men trying to move away from her, but as soon as they get onto their feet, Rey puts up her right hand as a gesture for them to hold still.

Rey's pupils turn white again and she lifts a commanding finger at both gentlemen. "You two wait right there. I'm not done with either of you." 

Like the honorable Orson Krennic before them, both men have no choice but to obey.

Rey then walks over to the man with the gunshot to the stomach, watching him as he presses his hand up against the wound. He looks at his bloody hand like it was a disturbing sight to him. Rey's shadow looms over him and he looks up in terror. After seeing what happened to Barker, he had reason to fear for his life. Rey then kneels down, causing the man to scoot away from her. He holds up a hand in a silent plea for her to spare him.

"So, then..." Rey starts. "...What's your name?"

"Gene..." He answers quickly.

"Gene..." Rey repeats as if to ask if that was correct. "Hmm..." Rey then leans in closer to Gene, giving him an exasperated curious look. "So, Gene..." She tilts her head to the left. "...What do you know?"

Gene's eyes bulge as he shakes in fear of the Red Queen.

* * *

Gene is laying spread out on his back, eyes rolled to the back of his head. But, he was still alive.

Rey then walks back over to the two men who were just as still as statues. "So, Lydia's being taken to a women's shelter, owned by somebody named Unkar Plutt, whose doubles as a way station of sorts. What was suppose to be a safe place to meet and speak was just a front for human holding pins. Do you know anything about this, Käufer?"

"Yes." Käufer answers, sounding like he was in a trance.

"And do you know where it is in Coruscant?" Rey asks.

"Yes, I do." Käufer says.

"Good." Rey says She walks over to him, grabbing him under the chin, forcing him to look at her. "Show me." Her pupils turn white again as she reads Käufer's mind. She discovers the exact location of this 'woman's shelter', which streets to take, what routine to go in to deliver the girls for Unkar to sort through them to figure where they should go to fetch a pretty penny. But, that's not all Rey finds. She also sees that Käufer is involved in a sting operation that was set up to lead to the capture of Dopheld Mitaka, the man who took Bree Bainer. From Käufer's memories, she can see that Jessup Wedjet is Käufer's partner who is also Lydia's ex-boyfriend. Wedjet was trying to take Käufer out of snatching Lydia but the bastard didn't listen. She also sees that the sting involved the Violent Crimes Unit... Finn was involved in trying to capture Mitaka.

Finn Storm... her heart... her Peanut... her beloved... her saving grace... was putting himself in mortal danger just to save Cassia's little girl. Oh, he's such a good man, her Finn. Always putting other people ahead of himself, regardless of the risks.

"Finn?" Rey says, ending the mindread immediately. "My love." Just the images of Finn from Käufer's memories was enough to warm her heart. Even when it wasn't beating. "He keeps putting himself in these situations without me. It's really frustrating." Just then, a thought crossed her mind. "Hey. Käufer. What are you still doing here?! Get your ass back to that warehouse and protect my Finn! I'll be there as soon as I get Lydia and those other girls."

Käufer wastes no time hauling ass back over to his truck, following the order of the Red Queen.

Rey then turns her attention to Dryden. "Now, you..."

Dryden stands at attention. "Go inside and collect my and Lydia's things. As if right now, we no longer dance at this swine feast. And, while you're at it, I want you to all the money you owe us, our tips, and $5,000 dollars of your own cash and bring it out here to me." Rey says before remembering something. "Oh. Yeah. And uh... remember to call Gene there an ambulance. You got it?"

"I've got it." Dryden says in his trance.

"Good. Now go. I need a change of clothes and I don't want an audience." Rey orders and Dryden obeys. Rey goes over to her car, opens the truck from the inside and goes to pull out a large suitcase. Just as she gets ready to open, she looks up to see Käufer driving away from the club, headed back to the warehouse. Now, with only the unconscious Gene remaining, Rey opens up her case, revealing an all black leather outfit. She yanks it out and with her vampiric speed, she quickly change out of her exotic outfit and into the black leather one.

**LATER...**

Dryden returns with everything Rey requested. She takes it all from him, throwing them into her car. Slamming the door shut, she walks up to him and says "Don't worry." She says. "After tonight, you won't remember any of this. Not what's happened out here. Not what I am. Not about Lydia. In fact, you won't remember me. The moment I leave here, I'll just be a total stranger to you." She then walks over to her driver side, opening the door but stops herself from getting in. "Thanks for everything, Dryden. Despite not always showing it, I know you're a decent man. But, you can be such a... such a bastard sometimes. Enjoy the rest of your night, Vos, as I am about to enjoy mine." Rey gets in, starts her car up and lefts the club for the last time.

Dryden was still standing there, even after the dust trail dirtied him up. Not even 10 seconds later, he says. "Whoa! Boy, are my ears ringing and what a headache I've got." He then looks around, clearly confused. "What am I doing outside?"

Rey changes the time. It's already well after midnight. Cullen's got a hell of a head start. But, Rey's not deterred. She'll close the distance between them soon. And when she does, all holy hell is gonna break loose!

* * *

**BACK AT THE WAREHOUSE...**

As all of the plain clothes officers and agents wait, they distract themselves by passing the time with minor conversations, cleaning their weapons, or simply just staring at monitors.

Rose, while hanging out by the screens with Surge, Slip, and Kaydel, gets a text message. She pulls out her phone and sees that it's from Jannah.

Capt. Fett noticed the loud chirp from her and watches her as if the news was for him. He goes over to her as Rose unlocks the screen. She only has about 5 seconds to read what the message said before Fett walks over to her. "What's the latest?" He asks, startling Rose.

"Oh..." Rose says. "Just a... just a head's up about a friend of mine getting into protective custody."

"Friend?" Fett asks. "Who's the friend?"

Just then, Finn comes in through a side door, drawing the attention of all the others in his unit.

"Took you long enough to got back here." Snap says.

"Yes." Finn says. "Good to see you, too there, Temmin." 

"What was all the chatter about?" Poe asks.

Finn then goes to explain that his friend, Aidil, was taken into protective Custody by his sister, Jannah. Aidil still had listening ears on the street and out of fear for his safety, Jannah wanted to tell him in person that she had him hidden away. Rose backs his story.

"Okay..." Fett says, like he was expecting more. "Is... that it? What's so important that this Aidil needs to be protected?"

"There's word going around Solitary Square that someone's put a bounty on Mitaka's head." Finn answers.

There's a collective gasp and people looking around in confusion.

"Say... what?!" Deputy Chief Holdo shouts.

* * *

**ELSEWHERE...**

In the middle of the afternoon, a black stretch SUV drives down an active highway towards an inactive still mill. Aside from the driver of the SUV, there's a guy in a black suit riding shotgun. In the seats behind them, there were two chairs sitting vertically facing each other with two men sitting on both sides. In the back seat sat another gentleman with a gun strapped to his chest in a chest holster. The guy sitting beside him is a 6'4 tall man in a dark brown suit with dark blue lens sunshades.

Devilishly handsome and a carefree yet purposeful look on his face, the tall man stares out of the left rear window, seeing all the people he was passing by as he leaned against his seat on his way to handle business.

Pulling up to the mill, the driver puts the stretch in park and all the other men sit out of the vehicle. All though it was mentioned before that only one guy had a gun holstered to his chest, all of the other men in suits all had guns on their hips. Whoever this men are and whatever they were involved in, it required some serious hardware. And not the kind typically found at a still mill.

The guy riding shotgun lets the tall man out and all 6 men all gather around the tall man as if to protect him in a human wall, escort the guy inside as the 7th guy walks behind the others, occasionally watching over his shoulders.

* * *

In the room that used to be the employee welfare room now acts as a sort of telemarketer room where people were on computers and phones, talking with customers all across the country and all over the world. As the folks do their day-by-day stuff, the tall man and his entourage just stroll all through like they own the place. Because they did.

Those that worked for them, all looked up and gave them a greeting nod before getting back to it.

The Interior spaces are nothing more than a giant arsenal, filled with every kind of gun you could think of. This is the Arsenal that belongs to the former employee/business rival to Dario Jane: Johnny Valo.

Reaching what kind be considered his office, Johnny Valo takes a seat at his desk, immediately sorting through all of the pictures and papers covering the desktop as his men all sit in the lounge outside. The one man with the chest holster takes a seat in the man's couch, just as quiet as a mouse.

Valo's not there two minutes before someone comes barreling over to his office, knocking on the door.

"Come in!" Valo shouts, not even bothering to look up.

The door opens and an older man with a mustache comes through it. "Good afternoon, Mr. Valo!" He greets.

Valo, still not acknowledging the man, simply says. "Hello, Tobias. How's business?"

"Good swimmingly." Tobias says. "We've got our partners in Hong Kong sending over an arsenal's resupply of guns by boat. American seized guns from Jakku are being rounded up and sent this way via a semi truck and trailer. American guns that were suppose to be delivery to Fort Lucas are gonna get stuck in traffic, take a detour down a back country streets where our guys are gonna hijack those weapons and drive them straight here."

"Good, good." Johnny Valo says, finally leaning back in his chair. "Sounds like everything's running smoothly as usual."

"Of course, sir." Tobias says. "There's no need to worry."

Valo shrugs. "Did I make it sound like there's something to be worried about?" He asks.

"No, sir." Tobias says.

"Well, then..." Valo says. "If there's nothing to worry about, then there's nothing to worry about. If there's nothing else, you're dismissed."

"Understood, sir." Tobias says. As he goes to leave, he stops, remembering something else. "Sir? We've got that ass-annoying Twitch warning for you on the top floor of this facility."

"What does _he_ want?!" Valo asks.

"I'm not sure, sir." Tobias says. "But, it may have to do with him coming here with another important client."

Valo swears under his breath before he can fully grasp what Tobias just said. "Important client?" He asks. "Who?"

Tobias clears his throat as if he doesn't want to draw attention to himself. "General Hux, sir."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment and share your thoughts!


	6. The Situations We find Ourselves in

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Despite years of successful dealings with the First Order, Valo finds himself in a dire situation when General Hux demand that he make good on their latest venture together. Or else, their latest will be their last and Valo and everyone working for him will belong to the dangerous Fanatic.
> 
> When word about a bounty on Mitaka's head reaches the VCU, Fett and Holdo once again find themselves in a heated debate on whether or not one life is worth more than many.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took me way too long to get right. I've must've written this half a dozen times by now.
> 
> Anyway, here's chapter 6.

In what appears to be a rec room, a short man with a nervous guise paces back and forth from wall to wall. He's got a neurotic sense about him. He goes from folding his arms to not and rubbing his chin.

Just behind him is a man with ginger red hair, sitting cross-legged while sipping coffee. He's dressed in all black and has a scowl on his face. He's looking through the latest issue of _Guns 'n Girls_. It's a magazine that features detailed articles about every kind of gun from hand-cannons to anti-aircraft guns. With including pictures of women, from different ethnically backgrounds, dressed in revealing bikinis while holding, firing, or simply modeling with the weapons they were given. The Ginger man looks to be completely disgusted with the images. "So undignified." He utters to himself.

The Nervous guy turns a full 180 degrees in supernatural like speed, looking at the seated man. "Pardon?" He asks.

The red-haired man looks up at him with an angered stare, not even lifting his head. He's holding his coffee cup mere inches from his lips.

The Nervous man wrings his hands. "I'm sorry if I disturb you. But, I thought I heard you say something?"

The Red-haired man says nothing as his gaze turns a bit more resentful. He frowns as it appears as though he's got a personal problem with the man talking to him. If looks could kill, that the man standing would be dead now with two dagger like puncture wounds where his eyes should be. 

He diverts his attention back to the magazine, flipping to the next page a bit more forcefully than he needs to.

The standing man clears his throat before he resumes his pacing before he starts rubbing his arm.

"Twitch!"

A voice calls out, drawing 'Twitch's' attention to the tall man and his entourage (Maul, Nines, and Zeroes) as they come barreling into the room.

Johnny Valo crosses over to standing in front of the sitting man, facing him. "General, I apologize for leaving him alone with you for so long. He gets really overwrought when he's got nothing to do."

"Really?" The General questions. He then gives Twitch a scrutinizing gaze, seemingly causing him to freak out even more. The General cuts his eyes at him. "Why are you shaking so much? What's wrong with you?"

Twitch lowers his head, appearing to be ashamed of himself, still rubbing his arm. "I'm sorry, sir. I'm just a little nervous."

The General gives Twitch a mystified glance. "You're just a little nervous?" His eyebrows elevate as he stares him down. "Seems a little strange, given who you work for. You're line of work involves killing people. What do you have to be nervous about? Don't tell me you've got itchy trigger fingers."

"I uh..." Twitch says. "I... I don't do too well around strangers."

"You don't do too well around strangers." The General repeats back dryly, much to Twitch's uneasiness. then looks over at Valo with a look that shouts 'Are you fucking kidding me with this?!'. "Your friend can't keep still. That's not a good trait for a man to have when dealing with important people." He scoffs before he returns his attention to Twitch. "What, he doesn't let you out very much?" The General cuts his eyes at Twitch and he then becomes conscious that he's been rubbing his arm for a while. So, he drops his right arm and stops. "No, you look more like a tweaker." The General comments. "You certainly are acting like one." He then looks back at Valo. "Is he high on something right now? Should I be concerned that you've got a meth-head in your crew?"

"Oh, no, General Hux. He's just got some extreme anxiety issues." Valo then looks over at Twitch himself. "Can't be left alone around people for too long. Starts sweating and inching like crazy. That's why we call him 'Twitch', Eh, Twitch?"**** <strike></strike>

"Hey, come on, Johnny!" Twitch says. "Social Anxiety is a serious thing."

"Anyway, you don't have to worry about him, General. I know for a fact he's not a meth-head. They cost too much." Valo says, ignoring Twitch. "And no. I don't keep him around the merchandize either. In fact, he's usually my go-to-guy whenever I need errands taken care of. He can't help himself. He's not the 'waiting patiently' kind of guy. Maybe he can do something for you right now."

General Hux then says nothing. But, does nod his head, acknowledging that he heard Valo and pushing out his lips in an understanding manner. "Errand boy. Hmm. I see." He comments at last. "Sounds to me like he would be best if he was kept out of the loop and out of the Arsenal just in case he found himself in police custody. And seeing as how you offered to do something for me, I've got just the thing since sitting still's seems like too much of a hindrance for him..." He then holds up his mug." 

Valo catches his drift. "Mug's getting a little light? We'll take care of that." He finally turns to 'Twitch', seeing him rubbing his right arm. "Twitch! For God's sake, relax!" He says in a vexed tone of voice. "You put everyone around you on edge!" 

Twitch looks at him for a moment, appearing to be slightly lost and confused. "I...I, I can't help it, Boss. You know about my condition." 

"Well, right now, your 'condition' is upsetting my client!" Valo comments. "Now, the General can do with a refill. So, how about you go and get us all some coffee, hmm?"

Twitch's eyes widen a bit, looking that was the thing he needed to hear. "Yeah. Yeah, sure. I... I could use another cup myself." Twitch says.

"Another cup for you and we'll be bringing out the tranquilizers." Valo says. "Coffee always did put you in a tailspin and I'm sure you've had one cup too many already! No, your jittery enough. Just get the 5 of us some cups of joe and afterwards... you can have a drink at the bar in the basement. Alright?" 

Twitch appears to be insulted by this comment before nodding his head. "Okay, okay." He then goes to leave the room to go. As he passes by Hux, he whispers, "Sorry, sir." and gets pass the gentlemen on his way out.

Valo frowns, giving Twitch an irritated gaze as he walks out the door. His head then whips back to the General, giving him a much more professional manner and smile. "Well, this is quite a surprise." He says, sounding like a bullshitter. Walking a bit closer to him, Valo gives Hux his best shit-eating grin. "I wasn't expecting a visit from you today. What brings you by, General?" He goes to sit down, but stops when Hux closes and throws the magazine down on the seat next to him. Showing that he doesn't want Valo to sit down next to him.

"Yes, I know that this is a tad sudden." General Hux says. "But, I meant to talk with you about... Uh, I hope my being here hasn't disrupted anything?"

"No." Valo states firmly. "No, not at all. You're always welcomed here." He then walks over to an empty chair across from Hux and takes a seat. His men all stand around him, trying to look very humble as they hold their wrists down by their waists. "I'm just... a little confused at your being here. Usually, when business calls for a face to face, it's conducted at Fort Garza. Unexpected visitors don't come around too often. If I were aware that you wanted to meet me, I would've been here sooner."

"Well..." General Hux then sits up, putting his empty mug on the floor before resting his back up against the back of the sofa. "Like any good businessman, I imagine that you must have contingencies in place for anything unexpected. But..." Hux clears his throat. "...If it's all the same to you, I've rather had enough pleasantries for an afternoon. Captain Phasma's coming in from Scarif with some eager young recruits, all eager to fight for the First Order. And, as with any growing army, we're in need of provisions. Namely firearms. Which brings me to why I'm here. Now, where are you on fulfilling the order we gave you?"

"I just heard this morning that we've got trucks on the road, loaded with Jakku guns, American made guns that'll be here no later than tonight and a boat coming into Neptune Bay tomorrow night." Valo says. "Your list for 400 guns is almost completed, General Hux." He says with a reassuring smile.

The General Doesn't seem very impressed. Or too thrilled for that matter. "That's not the answer I wanted when I came here, Valo. I was expecting that I would be leaving here with a truckload. Why am I still waiting for my guns?"

Valo, his smile faltering a bit but still there, says "Umm... we've-... we've got them. But, they're not all here just yet. We wanted to wait until we've cleared everything on the list before we gave you everything you wanted at one time. As opposed to you getting them in portions. It's just taken a bit more time for us to put it all together. Rest assured, everything on the list has been attained. We're just waiting to get our hands on them before we gift wrap them for you."

Hux's expression remains the same. "So... what you're saying is... you're not ready to give me my guns... _yet_. You haven't gotten them all... _yet_. Excuse me. You said you had them all. You just don't have them all with you right _now_. Am I correct?"

Valo tries to hide his apprehension, but is not sure if he's doing a good job. (...He isn't.) He was just giving Twitch a hard time about his anxiety. But, now his own was kicking his ass. "I... apologize for any inconveniencies...As I said before...we weren't expecting you today. But, it's all under control. Undertakings like these take so long because there are considerable... fallouts that we need to be careful of should something happen in transit. The Process may be slow, but it'll be worth it. I promise." 

Hux leans back in his seat, pressing his back against the backrest before he lets out a disapproving sigh as he rubs his forehead and massage his eyelids. He then looks up at Valo and asks, "Is that the thing you do when you can't deliver, Valo? You make promises?"

Valo's smile than drops immediately from that comment. He clears his throat while letting out an offended chuckle. "Uhm... I'm sorry?"

"As long as we've been in business together, you've never been more than a few days late when it came to shipping the weapons we require." Hux comments. "But, now we've been waiting a couple of months for this order to come in. If I didn't know any better, I'd say it looks like your newfound success has made you a bit...insouciant. Lazy." Hux throws his arm up on the left arm of the couch. "Usually, you're more hungry for our business. So, what's going on? What's taking you so long to fulfill this order? You've had a sufficient period of time to get all those guns rounded up and brought to me!" 

Valo scoffs out loudly before he can even stop himself. He always thought Hux had a permanent stick up his ass. But, he's not usually this agitated. 'Where was this unfound aggression coming from?' He thinks to himself. "Sir, with all due respect, you gave us a very specific list of hardware to track down. So much to collect and too much to move without attracting federal attention. We need to be discreet. Besides, it's only been a couple of months and we've already got a bulk of those guns you wanted. We'll give you what we've got now. But, the shipment for the rest will be here tomorrow night. So, please try to have some patience." 

Hux looks over at Valo as if he suddenly grew wings. "Patience?" He asks in a poisonous spiteful way. 'Now, he's tell me to be 'patient'. He then thinks of a way to raddle Valo's cage. "Is that what you told Kanjiklub when you offered to supply that prison break for their buddies back home?"

Valo's eyes widen at this revelation. No one but he, his people and Kanjiklub should know about that whole situation.

"Or Bala-Tik and the Guavian Death Gang when they wanted to wage war on the Hutts?" Hux asks. "Did you promise them that you'd get those weapons from point A to B... if they had a little patience?!"

"General, be reasonably!" Valo says with his hands held up in a pleading manner. "You've never given us a due date before! And 2 months is actually pretty damn generous for a list like yours. It doesn't effect our efficiency nor does it fuck with the timetable for any other orders. So far, we've already reached up to 284 guns of the 400 you asked for. The rest is on it's way. If I could dial up a number to make this go faster, I would. But, I can't. Not without someone fucking up. So, to do it right, it takes some finesse. Something your people would definitely benefit from." 

"Is that right?" Hux asks, sounding very unconvinced. Like he knew something Valo didn't. He then gets up on his feet, walking over to the standing Valo. "Well, how's this for finesse? I happen to know for a fact that G.D.G. wanted over 135 guns and Kanjiklub were asking for 210. That's 345 guns total! And you've accomplished within weeks of each other."

Valo's stunned that Hux knows so much. But, he's not about to ask how he knew. He's knows better. "Well, exactly!" Valo says, standing up. "In those cases, it wasn't very hard to pool together a bunch of government seized weapons that were just gonna be destroyed anyway. But, here is a different story. Gun laws are different in other countries and we don't have any friends in the Arms industry. All this hardware isn't easy to come by. Less so to move so much of it at once without, once again, drawing any attention from any agency. My contacts and suppliers all face risks of their own, you understand. To do this thing right, we need the time it takes to get it done _right_."

Hux scoffs. "Well, I think you've wasted enough of our time and our _money_ to be making excuses." Hux counters. "Instead of using both wisely, you've been cruising around, throwing money away on hooch and whores. And now that I know what you've been up to, you're dangerously close to a deadline. I just hope, for your sake, it's not literal."

"General..." Valo says. "Trust me. This time day after tomorrow, you'll have the 400 just as I promised. Just 48 more hours and you'll have everything you asked for."

"A deal is only valid when you can deliver when you say you can deliver, Mr. _Valo_." Hux spits his name out of his mouth like it was disgusting. "I'm getting sick of these games you play and your half-assed gestures. Get those weapons here soon or the deal is off. And your precious organization will be the collateral the First Order collects. Come to think of it..." Hux looks around like he's inspecting his surroundings. "...I think your organization would be just the compensation the First Order needs."

Valo's whole demeanor changes. He went from fearful to angered. This was his business. And Hux just threatened to take it all away.

Hux goes on to say. "...In fact, I think it's perfect! No, I really do! Your gun-runners?" Hux shakes his head. "They'll be _my_ runners. Your men? They'll be ours. Taken into the growing number of soldiers that will be added to our army. And you... you're gonna be arranged as target practice for the junior squads in their first live ammo exercise. You asked for 48 hours. I'll let you have them. And after those 2 days, we'll see what needs to happen. Whether you still got to live as a gun-runner or you living the last few hours of your life, wondering which bullet has your name on it. What a difference a couple of days can make, am I right?" He then purposely bumps his shoulder into Valo as he passes by him on his way out the door.

The sound of the door slamming causes the last 4 remaining to flinch. Although Valo doesn't allow himself to get wince too much at this.

He took over from Dario Jane and has been moving weapons through the U.S. East Coast and across the Atlantic ever since. And he's been doing damn well for himself. Now, as he said, sometimes things don't just come easy. And he understands that Hux is pissed. But, goddammit, where was all this unnecessary resentment coming from? they've been in business for the last 5 years. There has never been a reason for any hostility. 

Well, whatever issues... whatever _other_ issues... Hux might have, you don't threaten a man's livelihood. Losing his life is one thing. Losing his livelihood is another. Valo would kill this shit-head right now and risk a war with the First Order just to keep Hux from getting it.**** <strike></strike>

Okay. Well, now he needed to stay focused on what was ahead. The guns were on their way there. The Order would be filled and he and Hux can (hopefully) go back to being business partners. And if not, fuck Hux! There are plenty of people who would be looking to get their hands on some serious merchandize. He was looking to expand and go aboard anyway.

Twitch comes back in with a pot of steamy, hot coffee. He walks in like he's being shoved inside and has a look on his face like he just almost got rundown. "Hey. What's going on? I just passed the General outside and he looked fucking pissed. Did... something happen while I was away?"

Nobody answers or interacts with Twitch at all as they all let Hux's words sink in, even though they've pretty much have everything taken care of. **** <strike></strike>

"Alright." Twitch drags out due to the awkward silence. "Well, I've got hot coffee for you guys..." He holds up the pot."...Freshly brewed and everything. If you don't want it black, cream and sugar comes included."

Again, everyone has turned a deaf ear to the nervous man.

Even though he knows he's got nothing to worry about, Valo can't help but wonder what if the next time Hux sends them a list and decides to do something ungodly like... well... he doesn't even want to think about it. At least he didn't have to worry about any competition right now.

After setting down the pot of coffee on a nearby serving tray, Twitch then realizes the intense frowns on everyone's faces and the uncomfortable atmosphere of the of the rec room. "Ooh." Twitch flinches. "Why all the scowls? I was gone for maybe 10 minutes. And you and the General seemed to be getting along. Wait. _Did_ something happen in here?" 

"Will you **shut the fuck up**, Twitch?!" Valo's man, Maul, says with a noticeable british accent. "Can't you tell by the way no one is talking to you that everything might _**not** _be okay?!"

"WHOA!" Twitch says. "Maul, man... I didn't mean no disrespect. I was just..."

"AHH! AHH! NO! No. I know what you were trying to do and no one is in the mood for it." Maul says harshly. "Anyway, this is business between big dogs. There's nothing for you to worry about. Tell you what... why don't you go get that drink now? Huh? You did what John asked you to do and for that I'm grateful for him. Now, just leave the coffee where it is and fuck off!"

"Yeesh!" Twitch exclaims. "Alright! Alright, I'm going. You don't want me here, then just say so. You ain't gotta be so rude about it." He whines as he leaves the room again.

"Motherfucker..." Maul says.

Zeroes, finally looking over his shoulder and the retreating form of Twitch, looks over at Maul, shaking his head. "What a fucking clown..." He says under his breath in regards to Twitch.

"Hey, Boss?" Nines asks. "What are we going do now?"

Valo then turns a sudden 180 degrees, looking at Nines with a mixture of confused and insulted expression. "'We'?" He asks, both eyebrows raised. "'We', Nines? Since when do 'we' get together and discuss anything outside money, booze, and broads? Huh? What are _we_ going do? _We_ ain't gonna do nothing. _I'm_ gonna carry on like this was just another day at the office. While _you_..." (Regarding the 3 of then) "...stay close and keep an eye out until something pops off. Okay? That's what _we're_ gonna do. You get it?"

Nines, looking at him like he wants to ask if that was even necessary but bites his tongue and say instead... "Yeah. Yes, sir. I got it."

"Good." Valo says before he goes over to pour some coffee into a mug on the table. He sets the pot back down. "I can't afford to lose the First Order's business. Or risk going to war with them. But, he's not about to have his way. He won't take this from us. And I'll do what I can to stop this. I just don't know how right now."

"I get it, boss." Nines says, exhaling sharply. "I didn't mean to apply anymore pressure."

Valo looks back at him and gives him an acknowledging nod. Seeing Valo's shoulders loosening up causes the others to exhale a breath they didn't know they were holding before their eyes drift to the floor and/or they all exchange looks.

Valo, with his coffee, goes over to the couch, sees the magazine Hux put there and frowns. He then picks it up and throws right across the room, down onto the floor, before taking a seat on the cushion right next to where Hux was just sitting. He takes a sip of his coffee before he lean back against the back of the couch. He looks up and frowns. "Help yourselves, guys. That java's there for ya."

His guys then follow suit, going to get some coffee themselves, when a man in a light gray suit and graying hair walks into the rec room.

"Hey, Boss..." Says the man, Carver, "...the folks downstairs have been getting a lot of chatter over the phones. Seems like someone else is selling high merch on the streets."

Valo scoffs at this. Now, this was something he didn't have to stress about. "Probably just some up-and-comers looking to make names for themselves. Tell you what... We'll let them operate for a bit. Maybe even invite them into our fold. If they're interested, it'll be an opportunity to make some serious coin. And if they're not, we mow them over. There's nothing to worry about. Once you and the rest of the fellas are sent out, it won't even be a fair fight. We'll collect whatever they were trying to sell and take whatever cash they managed to make. Simple shit." Valo then takes another sip of his coffee.

"Nah, I wouldn't be so sure, sir." Carver states. "From what they're hearing, It sounds like your old boss, Dario Jane, is out of jail and back in business."

Valo then spits out his coffee before he looks over at Carver. "What'd you say?!"

Might've spoken too soon.

* * *

Over in what could be called a conference room, Johnny Valo and his crew: **Nines**, **Zeroes**, **Maul**, **Choke**, and **Carver** are all seated at this conference table. Valo sat at the head while the other 5 sat on opposite sides.

Near the foot of the table, Tobias Beckett has directed the attention of the others to the monitor mounted on the far wall.

"It's been going on the last few hours." Tobias says, standing to the side, allowing the men to see the screen. What was on it was recorded times, calls, messages, and who was in communication with who. He had a remote, pressing a button to switch between the different lists. "A lot of chatter back and forth about Dario Jane. Mostly, it's about him somehow having set up shop and is already resupplying the outfits in and around Solitary. Many of the gangs and Mob bosses have been rushing in and out of Neptune Bay, eager to see for themselves just what Jane's got in stock. Apparently, he's got enough hardware to supply an army."

Valo's resting his chin on his thumbs as he's pressed the palms of his hands together. "This doesn't make any sense. He was just in jail for the last 5 years, no chance of parole any time soon. How in the hell did he set up shop so fast?"

"This has gotta be a setup." Choke says, speaking up. "The Feds using him for some kind of major takedown. I mean, where could he have got all the hardware so fast?" 

"That makes sense." Zeroes says. "We've got eyes and ears in Sarlacc. If he were getting out, much less getting back in the heaters game, we would've heard about."

"Not if he was pulled out in secret or..." Maul suggests. "...released under a false name." He looks over at Tobias. "Just how early were those calls made?"

"Hmm..." Tobias hummed before he flips through the lists. "...About a couple of hours ago."

"That's pretty fucking fast." Carver says. "Getting out of Sarlacc, getting down to Neptune Bay in no time, setting up shop, getting the word out to old clients... he managed to accomplish a lot to say that this guy has been in the wind for only a couple of hours."

"That's gotta tell you something." Zeroes stresses. "Maybe Choke's right. Maybe Jane _is_ just bait for us."

"Aw, come on, you guys!" Nines says. "We're talking about someone who's made it a career to slip out of johnny law's hands. I wouldn't be surprised if he paid people to keep quiet while he made his arrangements. Any cops who couldn't be bought, wouldn't rat on the ones who were. Snitches are hated more than even the worst kind of criminal for a reason. And as far as his arsenal is concerned? Any smart businessman knows to keep assets hidden in case of emergencies. If I know him... and I do, I would not be surprise if he had a warehouse with crates just loaded with weapons. That's what I would do." 

"Except for the fact that Dario Jane has been directly or indirectly responsible for the deaths of several cops and feds." Valo says. "Anybody who's up on the word around town knows that law enforcement's got no love for the guy. So, if it's a supposed setup, then Jane's as much a target as anyone else. He's too big to not be."

"But, he's also the best chance at bringing a whole lot of people down." Choke says.

"Okay." Says Nines. "Let's not get too ahead of ourselves. This isn't the first time Jane's gotten out of serving a stretch, right? It's possible that he's arranged this whole thing. To be let out of jail and to be given everything he needs to get his own trade started back up."

"And the timings amazing too, isn't it?" Maul brings up. "Just as we're wrapping up this big delivery for Hux, the biggest we've ever had, he gets out and has gotten back into his old racket."

Valo, hearing this, then looks over at an unsuspecting Tobias. Tobias has been working for Dario long before Valo came around. And the two have known each other for a long time. Maybe... Valo cuts his eyes at him. 'Maybe...'

When Tobias feels Valo glaring, he looks over at him and Valo diverts his gaze over to the screen. He can't afford to get either Hux or Jane worked up. Nor can he let them know that he suspects either of them. Besides, he's got something else to worry about. "Well, regardless if he's a rat or not, he's posing a serious threat to our business. Whether he's selling his guns to our customers or gets a lot of people locked up, it really doesn't matter. If the former, we could get taken over by the First Order. If the latter, arms trafficking would be way too hot for us to make any money. And, of course, you gotta figure that with all those guns and none of them moving or turning a profit, the First Order would be coming for them... and us. Either way, we're fucked." Valo then gets up, picking his knuckles down on the wooden table.

His crew all look over at him when they hear the loud **<THUD!>** sound his fists mug made when they collided with the table.

"Boss?" Choke calls out.

Valo looks over at him briefly before he looks around, worryingly. "Tobias, would you excuse us, please?"

"Yeah, sure thing, Boss." Tobias says, placing the remote on the table before leaving.

Waiting just long enough for the older gentleman to leave, Valo says, "Zeroes, call Twitch. Tell him to get his ass outside and bring the car around."

"Uhh..." Zeroes appears to be confused. "Sure, Boss." He then whips out his cellphone.

"Maul, talk to Gianna before we leave." Valo says. "I wanna know exactly where Jane's Arsenal is set up before we leave."

Maul frowns at this. "Boss, what're you thinkin'?" He asks.

Valo doesn't answer and instead pulls out his gun, ejects the magazine, counts his bullets, before slamming it back in and sliding back the top, loading it.

"What are you gonna do?" Nines asks.

Valo looks up at Nines and says, "_We_ are headed to see this Arsenal of Jane's that I've been hearing about for the last half hour. Rumors keep persisting that he's the man with a major supply. As if I haven't existed for the last 5 years.

"You showin' your face over there is gonna put you on someone's radar." Carver says. "May not be the people you want getting close to you. We've gone over this already. But, if it is a setup, what then?"

"Don't worry about that. I'll got a Pilot I know on standby just in case we need to bolt." Valo says. "But, I'm not planning on doing anything other than a meet-&-greet. A get together between old friends. Although if I plan on having Dario taken out, it wouldn't be one of my people. We get someone else to do it for us and by the time the Police, or the feds, or whoever thinks to come after us, we'll be long gone. I know what I'm doing, guys. I just need you to trust me a little here."

His guys all take a moment to let all of that digest before they agree and find themselves satisfied with Valo's answer. They then all do as they're ordered and Valo himself takes out his phone, calling someone named 'Iden Versio.'

* * *

**BACK AT THE VCU CONTROLLED WAREHOUSE... 12 HOURS AFTER ABDUCTION**

Every cop and fed, who heard the words 'There's word going around Solitary Square that someone's put a bounty on Mitaka's head.', was suddenly on edge. This was the last thing they need to deal with right now. Even Dario Jane gave Finn his undivided attention as he listened in.

Finn has just broken the news that someone was after Dopheld Mitaka. The one man that they were looking for in hopes of rescuing an 8 year old girl, Bree Bainer, is now in a gang's cross-hairs to be killed for someone with deep pockets.

And worse yet, it's fucking Kanjiklub! Anyone who's lived in Coruscant for more than the last 4 years knows just how violent and blood thirsty that group is. Like something out of a horror film. If they were targeting one person hiding in a crowd, they'd open fire on the entire crowd just to kill that one person. 'Subtlety' doesn't exist in any of the Kanjiklub members' vocabulary. And their boss isn't above killing his own guys to get the job done.

So, with all that in mind, is there any wonder as to why the atmosphere in that damn warehouse just took a nosedive?

"Goddammit!" Poe exclaims, knocking a crate of guns off of a table and crashing onto the floor loudly. The noise causes everyone to jump simultaneously. "How the fuck did this happen? This was the last fucking thing we needed!"

"Calm down, Lieutenant!" Holdo commands. "Losing your head doesn't do us any good."

"Kanjiklub getting involved doesn't do us any good either!" Poe shouts. He slams his fist down on the table before he kicks it over.

**<KRAHH!>**

"This has all just turned into a gigantic clusterfuck!" Poe bellowed. "This is only getting crazier now. There are just too many things for us to worry about. So, why the fuck should I be calm?! Why should any of us be?!"

Knowing she could never get through to him like this, Holdo just shakes her head and turns to face Finn again. "Do anyone else know about this?" Holdo asks.

Finn frowns at Holdo over that question. He then gives her an exaggerated expression before sarcastically stating, "Aside from you and me, there's..." Finn hunches his shoulders. "...Kanjiklub, Aidil, Jannah, Rose, everyone in this room, and all the good folks living in Solitary. Honestly, I'd think the better question would be... who _doesn't_ know about this... _NOW_."

Holdo cuts her eyes at Finn. "Don't get flippant with me, Storm." The Deputy Chief warns. "I'm trying to figure out how to contain this. And you acting like a smart ass doesn't help me in the slightest. If you wanna be ass though, Detective, feel free to leave at anytime. Just hand me your badge and your gun on your way out. But, if you wanna stay, don't forget that I'm the commanding officer here. Am I understood?" 

'I couldn't if I tried.' Finn thought to himself. 'Since you've clearly got no problem reminding us that _you're_ in charge, I can never forget it.' Finn scoffs. "Yes. I apologize, Ma'am. Won't happen again." He says with just a hint of faux sincerity in his voice.

"That's what I figured." Holdo says, clearly not hearing it.

Jessika, doing everything she can to keep from rolling her eyes at Holdo, speaks up, saying, "Finn does bring up a good point, though. Assuming that Mitaka isn't in Solitary, how long would it take for word to reach him that Kanjiklub is after him? People living outside Solitary aren't very trusting of the residents inside. But, this isn't something that should be taken lightly. If he knows he's being poached, then how do we keep him from leaving Coruscant?" 

"How do you know he hasn't already?" Rose asks, getting several shocked glances. "Look, I'm not trying to be a Debbie Downer or anything. But, those Kanjiklub cuckoos? They're the worse of the bunch. To hear that you're in Tasu Leech's crosshairs... you're literally better off never being born. Now, Mitaka may feel confident that he can shake the police. The same cannot be said of those wackos. These are not the kind of scumbags you want after you. Those guys make the Hutts look sensible."

"No kidding." Slip speaks up. "Not to mention, they're not exactly close knit. I mean, we're talking about a group of crazies who would shoot their own guys just to make sure the guns worked. Yet there's enough of them to tackle an army."

"You're n-n-not wrong there."

Everyone turns to see that DJ has suddenly become a chatterbox out of nowhere. "I knew a guy... B-Big Jinx? H-he o-once made a deal with the K-Kanjiklub leader, Tasu Leech, promising to d-deliver a crate full o-o-of grenade guns. It turned out to be the last mistake he would ever make. As soon as he left, Tasu had f-four guys follow him b-back to his mansion, l-let them-s-selves in over the fence, lined up in the b-backyard and opened fired. They reduced that place to rubble. Cops found a 'thank you' note wedged in his car door."

"Shut the fuck up, Jane. That's just word of mouth." Temmin says. "It didn't actually happen like that."

"Y-you know t-that for a fact?" DJ asks, as if he knew better. "W-Were you there?"

"Mr. Jane!" Deputy Chief Holdo says. "What did he just tell you to do?!!"

DJ notices her. And while he's smirking, he puts a finger on his lips, gesturing that he needs to be quiet.

"Exactly." Holdo says. "Would you get to doing that?! NOW!"

Dario Jane looks absolutely amused by her outburst.

Holdo scoffs, shaking her head in disbelief. "I knew it. It couldn't be avoided. I knew some other craziness was bound to happen. Some other ridiculous thing no one could've seen coming. I should have never gone along with any of this."

"Deputy Chief..." Vi says. "Listen... We can't-..."

"What is happening anymore?!" Kaydel stresses in a terrified whisper, drawing Vi's attention away from Holdo. Holdo herself also looks over at Kaydel.

Kaydel's eyes are stretched out wide like she's looking at a ghost. Her fingers are running through her hair like she's on the verge of losing her mind.

"KO?" Vi calls out.

Kaydel doesn't not respond and instead, opts to back away from everybody. As she starts freaking out, more and more people around her notices her sudden change of behavior. "First, little Bree Bainer gets abducted..." She runs her finger through her hair. "...Then, we were on the hunt for Mitaka, using Valo to draw him out. And now this?! A killer on the loose... Valo's crew, The First Order, Kanjiklub... when will it end?!"

"Hey!" Vi calls out. She goes over, grabbing Kaydel by her forearms to keep her still. "I know it seems like a lot." Vi says. "But, don't let it overwhelm you, KO. Remember to breath, girl." Vi leans in to really look her friend in the eye. "Remember to breath, Kay. Come on now."

Kaydel's panting erratically before she does as Vi suggests and takes several deep breaths.

"That's it. Just keep breathing. Now, listen to me..." Vi says. "We can't afford to lose our heads right now. We're here for Bree Bainer, remember? We've got a little girl that was taken by some punk with no sense. And we're doing whatever it takes to get her back. Right? Just think about that. We've get a little girl who's out there and she's missing her mother so much right now. I'm sure she's scared and is desperate to get back to her. But, she's gonna need our help to do that. She needs us... and we need you. You've got to stay focused on what it is we're doing here. And don't forget we're not alone in this. Take a look around. Take a look around at what we've got. We've got officers, we've got S.W.A.T., we've got F.B.I. Agents. And, along with all of them, are enough guns to solve any problems we might come across. Getting Mitaka is the key. Once we have him, we're on our way to getting Bree back. And if a gunfight ensues, then so be it. Kanjiklub is just one group. We all makeup an army. Keep it together, Connix. We don't need you falling apart right now."

Kaydel nods, calming down.

Poe, overhearing their exchange, calms himself down. He doesn't get aggravated often. He's good about keeping a level head. But, when he does fly off the handle, you know the situation is stressful. Even for him. Although, from the looks of it, that would sound like a lie. But, it isn't. Today hasn't been the best day for him. With everything going on, this was his second outburst _today_. Normally, he would get chewed out for this. But, since everyone's feeling it, it's no use getting on Poe's case right now. "I'm sorry, Kaydel." He says. "I... I shouldn't acted like that. Today is just one of those days. And there's no end in sight."

Kaydel nods as if to say it's alright. She seems to settled down now.

Holdo, after hearing what Vi just told Kaydel, sighs like she knows that those things won't be happening. Like they won't find Bree alive. Mitaka will escape or already has. And none of them would survive an encounter with Kanjiklub. She runs her hand over her face, exhaling angrily. "That's it! I'm calling it!" She says harshly as she grabs her radio. But, before she can speak, Capt. Fett grabs her wrist. "Let go of my arm, Captain."

"All due respect, Deputy Chief." Captain Fett says. "But, What the hell are you doing?!"

"Pulling the plug on your little _sting operation_." She says with a nasty tone. "I knew this was a long shot to begin with. I want the S.W.A.T team and every officer in the area to stand down and head back to the precinct."

"If you do that, you'll kill our only chance at finding Bree Bainer alive." Fett says. "Can you really just throw her life away like it was nothing?"**** <strike></strike>

"Are you still so confident you'll find her alive?" Holdo asks. "It's been over 12 hours now, Fett. We may never find her now. We both know what Mitaka is capable of. Our best chance is if Homocide can locate her remains. Maybe even give her family so closure." Holdo then lays her hand on his arm. "I know it's hard to hear. You've done everything you could, Jango. You can forge ahead, knowing that. But, there's really nothing else you can do tonight. Go home, Captain. I'll... I'll see what I can do about the city's outrage that's bound to happen."

"I can't let you do that, Amilyn." Capt. Fett states.

Hearing Jango calling her by her first name and not by her rank puts Holdo back on her heels. "Ex-excuse me?"

"It's only been 12 hours." Jango comments. "We all know that the first 48 hours are crucial. But, it hasn't even been a day yet. And we've already established that Mitaka isn't running. He's just staying out of sight. And we still haven't figured out why he grabbed her in the first place. Did he really just take her so he could kill her or is she his hostage, taken for ransom? Or his human shield? With 36 hours to go, we're gonna keep treating Bree like she's alive.

"Even with the threat of Kanjiklub out here?" Holdo asks incredibly.

"Kanjiklub, G.D.G., the First Order..." Jango says. "...You can name whatever gang or criminal outfit you want. It's not gonna matter to me."

"Do..." Holdo starts but stumbles from Fett's apparent lack of concern. "Do you not know who it is you'll be dealing with? Are you willing to throw away lives of the officers you've brought out here just to catch 1 scumbag? Would you really be taking that risk just to stroke your fucking pride?! Are you perfectly fine gambling with all of their lives?" She sees Fett's reaction when he's visibly winces at that, but doesn't loosen his grip on her wrist. It's not enough to hurt. But, it's enough to know that he's holding it. "Look, I'm just gonna tell you the cold truth here." Holdo says. "I can't see this thing going anywhere but _south_. Valo showing up or not is just one thing. But, with Tasu Leech's kind of crazy, you're really asking a lot from both your own unit and all of those men and women in here and out there. I hate to say it... catching Mitaka and getting Bree back alive is just too good to be true. You can't help someone who may or may not still be alive. Now, maybe you're fine with endangering the lives of these officers who work for you. But, I am not. Too many good cops have lost their lives chasing these animals. I can't stand by and let anymore unnecessary blood be shed here. I'm calling everyone back. And I'm sorry if this seems heartless... but, Bree Bainer is a lost cause. You can't save everyone, Jango. That's just a truth your overinflated sense of morality is just gonna have to face. Tomorrow's another day. If you need to take some time off, by all means, do so. Just take the time you need. And when you come back, there'll be plenty of open cases for you and your unit to tackle."

Fett looks down seemingly defeated. But, then a thought crossed his mind. He think back to the day he got his badge and the oath he made when he faced the crowd of citizens there to witness it. "When I know for a fact that she's dead, then I'll deal with it then." Jango says. "And not before. As I said, we're gonna continue to operate as if she's alive." 

"What?" Holdo says. "Did you not hear a single word I said?"

"You ordering any officer to walk away... especially from a child... telling them that they're risking their lives for a lost chance, would tell you exactly what I'm about to." Jango says. "That's the promise I made when I put on this badge. That's what it means to be an Officer in this city."

Holdo sighs infuriated. How many ways can she say the same thing and get through to Fett? "Fett, I gave you some advice. I can make it an order if you'd like. Remember, when I give an order, I expect it to be followed. _I_ outrank _you_. You work for me."

"I work for the city of Coruscant." Fett states. "It's their safety, _not_ my own morality, that I'm concerned for. No risk is too great for me when it comes to me doing my job. In truth, dying for any number of them would be an honor. So, as if on Cassia Bainer's orders, we're not abandoning this case. Or Bree. I knew who you were before you became a Deputy Chief. When did you become so heartless? Leaving a little girl in the hands of a psycho? The only life I'd be risking is that Bree's if I leave her in Mitaka's clutches. And how about you, Amilyn? Can you really live with yourself, knowing you had a chance at finding her alive, no matter how slim it was, and didn't take it? Can you really sleep at night, knowing that a little girl was counting on you to save her and you did NOTHING."

Holdo says nothing as she looks away, hating that look in Jango's eyes.

"Hell, you're so eager for us to forget about her." Jango realizes. "So, you'd probably sleep just fine. Any thought to what you'd tell her mother? Would it be a nice speech for the cameras or is it gonna be the usual bullshit? 'We did everything we could', even though we didn't. 'I'm sorry' that we were too afraid for our own safety to be bothered trying to help your daughter. Asking any of them to let her die would kill them faster than any bullet could."

"I don't know how else to tell you this, Fett." Holdo says. "If you keep this course, I'm telling you, you'll have died for it needlessly."

"And I am TELLING you that Bree Bainer is not a lost cause." Jango says.

"You keep saying that. Why do you sound like you have a plan?" Holdo asks.

"Because I do." Jango says. "I never do anything haphazard." Jango then turns his attention to Rose. "Rose, give your sister a call. Have her get in touch with Transit and the S.P.C.S. field office here. See if she can't work with them to keep an eye out for Mitaka. Have them check trains, planes, buses, boats... Hell, get even the Goddamn Uber drivers on this. Every little bit helps. But, please make sure it's done subtlety. I don't wanna spook this motherfucker anymore than he probably already is."

Rose nods understandingly. "You got it, boss." She says, whipping out her phone and dials as she steps away.

"Finn..." Jango says, turning to Finn, who looks up at him, listening. "Why don't you call your sister back and have her update Saw Gerrera. If she catches any flack over this, just let Saw know that we weren't trying to go over his head."

"What should I tell her to say to Saw?" Finn asks. "...Just to help smooth things over."

"Only that a tip coming from his neck of the woods was connected to _our_ case." Jango says. "I'm sure whoever's eyes and ears he's got in Solitary was bound to report this to him eventually. Honestly, I would be very surprised if he _didn't_ have a guy on the inside right now. But, just let him know that you three were just looking out for a friend."

"Will do, Capt." Finn says, pulling out his phone and following Rose out.

Holdo then looks at Jango like he was insane. "Saw Gerrera? Ah, perfect. Now, you're looping _him_ in on this?"

Sensing her skepticism, Jango gestures for her to take it easy. "I know Saw. He can be a reasonable guy."

"'Reasonable' and 'Saw Gerrera' do NOT go in the same sentence." Holdo says. "Once he finds out Jannah kept this from him, she'll be lucky if she _just_ loses her job."

"No... Listen." Jango says. "Saw's a lot like me. He's tight knit and keeps things pretty close to the vest. But, the thing with guys like me and Saw is... we're not always very trusting of people. But, those that we do, we tend to overdo it. Once he sees the whole picture and what Jannah was trying to do, he'll work with her and us on this. Now, it's true he won't be happy about us getting this info before he did. But, I guarantee you, once he gets the gravity of our situation, he'll act accordingly."

'It's true.' Holdo thinks to herself. She's slowly learning why she shouldn't argue with Captain Jango Fett. The man has an answer for anything and she's already tired of him going against her option. So, she lets it go. "If you say so. I just hope you're right."

"I did say so." Fett says seriously but playfully. "And hope's got nothing to do with it."

Holdo rolls her eyes.

"Boss?" Calls out Surge, getting both Fett and Holdo to look in his direction. "We've got eyes on Johnny Valo. He's coming up on the Northwest section of our perimeter."

Holdo is visibly surprised by this news. Her eyes widen as if she wasn't expecting this bit of news. However, her eyes quickly grow narrow, like she was scheme. She also seems to be more confident as she then looks back at Jango and nods. Her own way of letting him know she was on board. 

Jango nods back. "You see, Deputy Chief? Having a** little faith** can pay off when you least expect it."

Holdo gestures as if telling him he might be right about this. She then steps aside, allowing Fett to speak.

Once he's sure that she's not about to exert her high rank again, he doesn't hesitate to take command of the room. "Alright. Listen up!" Fett announces outloud. "We've just be informed that Johnny Valo is approaching our perimeter. Safe to say that he's taken the bait and coming down to see our little arsenal for himself. He should here any minute now. You all know what to do. Go ahead and get into your positions and REMEMBER... He may weight a buck twenty-five soaking wet. But, Valo is nobody's fool. His game is guns. So, he's bound to show up with just a few as protection. But, however many he may bring... keep in mind, he's our best shot at getting to Mitaka. So, no kill shots. At least, Not Valo. He's also got to believe that we're all just apart of DJ's organization. If he even feels like he's standing next to a cop, he won't hesitate to bail. So, keep cool, keep your shit tight and let's get the ball rolling already."

* * *

Outside the warehouse, officers, disguised as dock workers, make themselves appear busy as a black SUV speeds past them. They allow themselves to look up when they feel it's safe to, seeing that all the windows are tinted and nothing can be seen inside as a result.

A young female officer eyes the passing vehicle before she turns her back to it. She lifts her radio up to her mouth and speaks in it. "Captain Fett, be advised." Officer Yana says. "We've got an unknown vehicle headed westbound to your location. License plate: Alpha_dash_George-Romeo-8-Mike-8. There appears to be 6 or 7 occupants inside. One of them could the man you're looking for... Jonathon Valo. One or all could be armed."

_"Acknowledged." _Says Fett over the radio. 

S.W.A.T. Commander, Angelo Cornick, and his number two, Claude Sharp, stand among their team on an elevated position all loaded for bear, all have been expecting a fight for the last 4 hours. Cornick has his people remain on alert as they watch the SUV make it's way closer to the VCU's location.

* * *

Fett and the other detectives see the approaching SUV on Surge's monitors. "All units, remain where you are. If this is Valo, he needs to think that this is D.J.'s arsenal. This has to go down as a simple meet & greet. No one makes a move unless a request for back-up is called for. Remember, we need to find the bastard that snatched Bree Bainer earlier this morning. He's no good to us if he's locked up or dead. Keep your distance but keep your radios on. When Valo leaves, let him go. Chances are we're gonna need eyes on him as insurance. So, if your unit is called, pursue but do NOT engage."

All the other officers radio in their understanding.**** <strike></strike>

"Alright." Jango says, addressing the entire Violent Crimes Unit. "Here we are at last. Let's get this little Bastard on jammed up. Poe?" He calls out to Lieutenant Dameron. "You're a demonstrator, showing off some of the hardware from D.J.'s arsenal. Whatever gun Jessika hands you, you act as if you're instructing some of the other U.C.'s on how to use them. As much as I'm sure you want to, do NOT use any of those guns on Valo. Or on Jane, for that matter. We need both of those assholes alive if this whole thing is gonna work."

'No promises.' Poe thinks to himself, chuckling. "Sure thing, Boss." He says before walking off with Jessika on his heels.

"Wexley..." He speaks to the Sergeant. "...You're a Knight of Ren in the middle of a sell with Jane. Some of the local gundarks have been making a lot of rips lately and you're eager for protection. You remember your old 'Oswald' cover? Use that. Kaydel, you'll be his partner."

"Yessir."/"Yessir." Temmin and Kaydel say as they head out.

"Vi?" Jango calls her out next. "You'll be acting as Jane's bodyguard. Stay close to D.J. Stay at his back at all times. But, let Valo know that you're watching him. D.J.'s been filling you in on how this little turd took his business from him. So, hey. You're hoping that he does something stupid. And if he does, well... at least you'll be strapped."

"Hopefully, you won't have to use it." 'Slip' says.

Vi takes off her gun belt and sets on a table. She then takes the gun itself out and tucks it into the back of her jeans. "Let's find out if I do."

"Rose, you're on one of the back tables, cleaning and loading." Jango orders. "From where you'll be sitting, there won't be much you can see. But, the good news is, Valo won't be able to see you. And with the others there with us, plus the guns taped under the tables, he won't see the heat you'll all be bringing."

"I'll get right on it." Rose says.

And then, there were Finn and Ezra.

"Finn." Jango calls, getting Finn's undivided attention. "I hate to do this to you, but you and Slip are sitting this one out."

Finn sighs in disappointment while Slip frowns at being made to stand down.

"Wait, what?" Slip says. "Why?"

Because Valo has 5 years of history with Hux. That's why." Jango says. "Now, I don't know how cozy Valo is with Hux or many people are coming with Valo. But, there's a really good chance that someone might recognize you. Someone who had ties to him or working for him presently. Either way, Hux knows that you both and Jannah have betrayed him. And he hasn't been very shy with sharing how much he hates the three of you with others. I know it's not fair. But, this is where we are. You two okay with being on the bench?"

"Not particularly." Finn says. "But, I do understand what you're saying. And all the things you just mentioned, I worried about myself. But, if I had just a single request, Captain..."

Fett nods. "Yeah, Storm? What is it?"

"If we had to just kick back while all the others worked, there is something we can do." Finn says. "Let us bug his car with a tracker. Since we're staying out of sight anyway, it wouldn't take too much effort to get done."

"That can be arranged." Fett says. "Surge, when you have a moment, get the trackers out of our little equipment room and bring them in here. Finn and Slip can take care of the rest."

"I can get them now." Surge says. "I mean, from here, it'll just be me staring at a parked car." Surge says. "Not something I'll be looking forward to. But, at least my part's really done now." Surge gets to his feet to leave.

"Good man." Fett says.

"Yep." Surge say as he leaves.

* * *

Back outside, The black SUV comes to a hard stop and rocks. The engine idles and the brake lights are on until the driver puts it in park and turns the engine off.

All four doors open at the same time and Maul, Choke, Carver, Nines, Zeroes, Twitch, and Johnny Valo himself exit the vehicles.

Valo's wearing shades. "Nice little set up here." He says. "With a great view of the bay. DJ always did have a thing for scenery and somehow the Atlantic Ocean just makes this even more amazing. Amazing if this doesn't end with him sinking to the bottom of it." He says under his breath. "Anyway, Maul. You, Choke, and Carver all know what to do. If shit goes down, be sure to get Jane and whoever else is close to be our human shields. Nines and Zeroes, you two will be watching our backs during our visit here. I can always count on you boys to have a nose for trouble. So, keep your heads on a swivel. Twitch..."

Twitch looks at him eagerly, interested to do whatever task Johnny's got for him.

"...Get back in the car. Keep an eye on things out here." Valo says, much to Twitch's embarrassment.

Nines and Zeroes chuckle at him as they follow their boss and their companions towards the warehouse.

Twitch does as he's told and get back into the SUV, staring daggers at the back of each and every man's heads.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All HELL's gonna break out next chapter!
> 
> Please comment and share your thoughts!


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